
By 

E.H. KREPS 



THE FUR TRADE OF AMERICA 

AND SOME OF THE MEN WHO 
MADE AND MAINTAIN IT 

TOGETHER WITH 

Furs and Far Bearers of Other Con- 
tinents and Countries and 
Islands of the Sea 

By A. li. BKLDfiN 

689 PAGES CLOTH BOUND 

Covering all branches of the Fur Industry both 
In America and other Continents and Countries, 
records of men and events. 

A very valuable reference work which will un- 
doubtedly occupy a prominent position in the 
libraries of all who are identified with the fur 
trade. 

Alpkabetlcally Indexed 

An Historic Work from the Bnrlieat 
Records to the Present Year 

NOW READY FOR DELIVERY 
$3.00 Per Copy Postpaid 

PELTRIES PUBLISHING CO., Inc. 

71 Weit 23rd Street, NEW YORK 



WOODCRAFT 

By E.H. KREPS 




Published by 

PELTRIES PUBLISHING CO. 

Incorporated 

71 W. 23d Street -:- New York 






Copyright 1919 by 
Peltries Publishing Co,, Inc. 



liro 20 1919 
©C1A558523 



WOODCRAFT 



uJ PREFACE. 



Elmer H Kreps was born in Union county, Pa., in 1880. 
At that time large and small game of the various species com- 
mon to Central Pennsylvana was plentiful in the neighborhood 
of his home. From his early boyhood he took a great interest 
in hunting and trapping. As he grew older he visited various 
parts of the United States and Canada, and being a keen 
observer, picked up a vast amount of information about life in 
the woods and fields. 

Mr. Kreps has written many articles on various subjects 
connected with hunting and trapping and this little booklet is 
a collection of Woodcraft articles from his pen. Mr. Kreps 
is an accomplished artist as well as writer, and the illustrations 
in Woodcraft are reproduced from his sketches. 

We feel sure that this collection of articles will prove of 
value to many men and boys who are interested in living in 
the woods and no one will be more happy than Mr Kreps if 
his work helps brighten the life of trappers and hunters, in 
whom he is always interested. 

EDITOR FUR NEWS. 



WOODCRAFT S 

BUILDING THE HOME CAMP 

The first camp I remember making, or remodeling, was an 
old lumber camp, one side of which I partitioned off and floored. 
It was clean and neat appearing, being made of boards, and was 
pleasant in warm weather, but it was cold in winter, so I put up 
an extra inside wall which I covered with building paper. Then 
I learned the value of a double wall, with an air space between, 
a sort of neutral ground where the warmth from the inside could 
meet the cold from without, and the two fight out their differ- 
ences. In this camp I had a brick stove with a sheet iron top, 
and it worked like a charm. 

But that was not really a wilderness camp, and while I 
realize that in many of the trapping districts where it is necessary 
to camp, there are often these deserted buildings to be found, 
those who trap or hunt in such places are not the ones who must 
solve the real problems of camp building. It is something alto- 
gether different when we get far into the deep, silent forest, 
where the sound of the axe has never yet been heard, and 
sawed lumber is as foreign as a linen napkin in a trapper's 
shack. But the timber is there, and the trapper has an ax and 
the skill and strength to use it, so nothing more is really needed. 
Let us suppose we are going to build a log cabin for a win- 
ter's trapping campaign. While an axe is the only tool neces- 
sary, when two persons work together, a narrow crosscut saw 
is a great labor-saver, and if it can be taken conveniently the 
trappers or camp builders will find that it will more than pay 
for the trouble. Other things very useful in this work are a 
hammer, an auger, a pocket measuring tape, and a few nails, 
large, medium and small sizes. Then to make a really pleasant 
camp a window of some kind must be provided, and for this 
purpose there is nothing equal to glass. 

Right here a question pops up before us. We are going on 
this trip far back into the virgin forest, and the trail is long and 
rough ; how then can we transport an unwieldy crosscut saw and 
such fragile stuff as glass? We will remove the handles from 
the saw and bind over the tooth edge a grooved strip of wood. 
This makes it safe to carry, and while still somewhat unhandy 
it is the best we can do, for we cannot shorten its length. For 
the window, we will take only the glass — six sheets of eight by 
ten or ten by fourteen size. Between each sheet we place a piece 
of corrugated packing board, and the whole is packed in a case, 



6 WOODCRAFT 

with more of the same material in top and bottom. This makes a 
package which may be handled almost the same as any other 
merchandise, and we can scarcely take into the woods anything 
that will give greater return in comfort and satisfaction. 

If we are going to have a stove in this cabin we will also 
require a piece of tin or sheet iron about i8 inches square, to 
make a safe stovepipe hole, but are we going to have a stove 
or a fireplace? Let us consider this question now. 

On first thought the fireplace seems the proper thing, for it 
can be constructed in the woods where the camp is made, but a 
fireplace so made may or may not be satisfactory. If we know 
the principles of proper fireplace construction we can make one 
that will not smoke the camp, will shed the proper amount of 
heat, and will not consume more fuel than a well-behaved fire- 
place should, but if one of these principles be violated, trouble is 
sure to result. Moreover, it is difficult to make a neat and satis- 
factory fireplace without a hammer for dressing the stones, and a 
tool of this kind will weigh as much as a sheet iron stove, there- 
fore it is almost as difficult to take into the woods. Then there 
is one or two days' work, perhaps more, in making the fireplace 
and chimney, with the added uncertainty of its durability, for 
there are only a few kinds of stones that will stand heat indefi- 
nitely without cracking. On the other hand the fireplace renders 
the use of a lamp unnecessary, for it will throw out enough light 
for all ordinary needs. ^ 

The good points of the stove are that it can be made by 
anybody in a half day's time; it does not smoke the camp, does 
not black the cooking utensils, gives the maximum amount of 
heat from the minimum quantity of fuel, and will not give out or 
go bad unexpectedly in the middle of the winter. If you leave 
it to me our camp will be equipped with a sheet iron stove. While 
the stove itself is not now to be considered, we must know be- 
fore we commence to build what form of heating and cooking 
apparatus will be installed. 

Having decided on which part of the country is to be the 
centre of operations, we look for a suitable site for our cabin. 
We find it near a stream of clear water. Nearby is a stretch of 
burned land covered thinly with second growth saplings, and 
near the edge of the evergreen forest in which we will build our 
camp stands plenty of dead timber, tamarack, white spruce, and 
a few pine stubs, all of which will make excellent firewood. In 
the forest itself we find straight spruce trees, both large and 
small, balsam, and a few white birches, the loose bark of which 



WOODCRAFT 




CHART SHOWING LOCATION OF CAMP. 

will make the best kindling known. Within three rods of the 
stream and 50 yards from the burn is a rise of ground, high 
enough to be safe from the spring freshets, and of a gravelly- 
ground which is firm and dry. This is the spot on which we will 
construct our cabin, for here we have good drainage, shelter from 
the storms, water and wood near at hand, and material for the 
construction of the camp right on the spot. 

The first thing to settle is the size of the proposed building. 
Ten by fourteen feet, inside measurement, is a comfortable size 
for a home cabin for two men. If it were to be used merely as 
a stopping camp now and then it should be much smaller, for the 
small shack is easier warmed and easier to build. I have used 



WOODCRAFT 




THE CORNER CONSTRUCTION. 

camps for this purpose measuring only six and a half by eight 
feet, and found them plenty large for occasional use only. But 
this cabin is to be our headquarters, where we will store our 
supplies and spend the stormy days, so we will make it ten by 
fourteen feet. There is just one spot clear of trees where we 
can place a camp of this size, and we commence here felling trees 
from which to make logs for the walls. With the crosscut saw 




THE GABLES. 



WOODCRAFT 9 

we can throw the straight spruce trees almost anywhere we want 
them, and we drop them in places which will be convenient and 
save much handling. As soon as a tree is cut we measure it off 
and saw it into logs. These must be cut thirteen and seventeen 
feet long, and as they will average a foot in diameter at the 
stump there will be an allowance of three feet for walls and over- 
lap, or 18 inches at each end. We cut the trees as near the 
ground as we can conveniently, and each tree makes two or three 
logs. All tall trees standing near the camp site must be cut, and 
used if possible, for there is always danger that a tree will blow 
over on the camp some time, if within reach. 

On the spot chosen for the camp we now place two of the 
long logs, parallel with each other and exactly ten feet apart. 
We block them on the outside so they cannot be moved easily 
out of position. Then we place two of the short logs across the 
ends and in these we cut half-round notches directly over the 
places where they rest on the long logs, and almost half through 
each piece. After cutting these notches we turn the logs notched 
side down, and these cuts, if they have been properly done, fit 
snugly over the long logs, thus binding the four pieces together 
and forming the first round of the walls. 

Before going farther now we must decide just where we 
are going to have the doorway of our cabin. We will place it on 
the south side, for we like to have the warm sunrays come in 
when the door is open, and if placed on the north or west sides 
it admits too much cold. We will place it near one end and then 
we can also put our window in the same side. About two or 
three feet from the corner we will cut out a section from the 
top of the log, making the cut four inches deep and two and a 
half feet wide, the bottom being hewn smooth and the ends 
sawed down square. Then we cut one of the balsam trees and 
saw a section from the butt the length of the proposed doorway. 
This should be not less than five feet, so we make it this length. 
Then we split through the centre with the axe and a pair of 
wooden wedges, and hew the two halves into two smooth planks. 
We also make a plank two and a half feet long. When these 
planks are finished we stand the two long ones upright in the 
place cut in the log and nail them firmly. We see that they 
stand perfectly plumb and in line with one another, then we nail 
the short plank across the top, thus completing our doorway. 
On this side, as the walls are laid up, we saw each log off 
squarely at the proper place and push it up against the door 
frame, fastening it there by nailing through the plank. The 



lO 



WOODCRAFT 



notches are cut to such a depth at the corners that the logs fit 
one against the other and this leaves no large cracks to close. 

To make our cabin comfortable it must have a floor and 
we have this in mind as we work. Before building the wall 
higher we will lay our sills for the floor, for it is difficult to get 
these cut to the proper length and fitted in place after the walls 
are completed and the timber must be brought in through the 
doorway. We cut three straight logs about eight inches thick 
in the middle and 14 feet long. These are bedded into the ground 
in the cabin, one along each side wall and the other in the centre. 
They must be placed at an even height and this is determined by 
means of a straight ten-foot pole, which when placed across these 
logs should rest on each. If one of them is too high in spots we 
dress these places down with the axe. 

We will now leave the floors and proceed with building the 
walls. Round by round the logs are notched and fitted into place, 
until the walls have reached a height of about four feet. Then 
we make a window boxing of planks and fasten it in the wall in 
the same way we did the door frame. The ends of the logs are 
butted against the window frame and fastened with large nails, 
driven through the planks into the logs. But before making the 
window frame the size of the proposed window must be de- 
termined, and this is done by measuring the width of the glass 
and making the proper allowance for the sash. When the logs 




THE ROOF. 



WOODCRAFT ii 

are placed in the walls we try to select timbers of such a size 
that one round of logs will come within about three inches of 
the top of the window boxing, and the next log is cut out to fit 
down over this window and the frame is nailed fast to this log. 
The same thing is done when the top of the door frame is 
reached, and this gives a greater degree of rigidity to the walls. 

When the walls have been raised to a height of about six 
and a half feet above the floor sills we commence work on the 
gables. These are constructed by placing a full length log across 
the end, a shorter one on top of this, continuing thus until high 
enough. This is best done by setting a pole up in the end of the 
camp exactly in the middle of the end wall, the top being just 
the height of the proposed gable. From the top of this straight 
pole, poles are run down to each corner and these give the slope 
of the gables, also of the roof. The logs are then cut off on an 
incline at the ends to conform with the line of this pole, and are 
fastened one on top of another by boring holes and driving 
wooden pins into them. When both gables have been raised to 
half their height we cut two 17-foot binding poles, each six inches 
thick in the middle, and notch them into the logs of the gables. 
These logs or poles not only give more stability to the gables, 
but they also make a support for the roof, and are a nice founda- 
tion for a loft on which to store articles after the camp is fin- 
ished. When the ends are brought up to within about eight 
inches of the required height a stout, straight ridge pole of the 
same length as the binding poles is placed on top, and notched 
lightly into the top log. 

Our camp is now ready for the roof, and what are we to use 
for this most important part I have no doubt that camp roofs 
have caused more gray hairs for woodsmen than any of the other 
problems they have to solve. If it were early summer when the 
bark could be peeled from cedar and spruce trees we would have 
no trouble, but bark is not available now. About the only style 
of roof that we can make now is what is called a scoop roof, 
made from split logs. We must find a straight-grained, free- 
splitting wood for this, and of the woods at hand we find balsam 
the best, so we cut balsam trees about eight or ten inches in 
diameter, and make logs from the butt of each, about seven feet 
long, so that they will reach from the top of the ridge-pole to the 
walls and extend a foot beyond. These we split through the 
centre and hollow out each in a trough form, by cutting notches 
in the flat side, without cutting the edges, and splitting out the 
sections between. We place a layer of these the entire length of 



12 WOODCRAFT 

the roof, hollow side up, and notch each in place so that it cannot 
slip or rock. Between each set of these troughs we will place a 
three-inch pole, and on top of the pole we place marsh moss. 
Then we place over these poles a second layer of the troughs, 
hollow side down, and over the ridge pole we place a large, full- 
length trough. This latter we must make by hewing a log flat on 
one side and then hollowing it out, for we cannot find a tree with 
such a straight grain that we can spHt a 17-foot length without 
more or less of a twist. 

Before completing our roof, in fact when the first layer of 
scoops are placed on, we must make provision for our stove pipe, 
for it must have an outlet through the roof, and the location the 
stove is to have in the cabin must be determined. A hole 12 or 
14 inches square is left in the roof, by using a few short scoops, 
and this hole is covered with the sheet of tin we brought for 
the purpose, and a slightly oblong hole is cut in this for the stove 
pipe. The edge of this hole we turn up with the hammer, which 
makes it waterproof, and when finished it is such a size that the 
pipe makes a snug fit. The whole thing is so arranged that water 
cannot run under from the top, but this is difficult to explain. 

A roof like this causes a lot of work, in fact as much as the 
remainder of the camp in some cases, but if carefully made it is 
a good roof, warm and waterproof. It must be well mossed or 
snow will sift in, and the lower ends of the troughs, from where 
they cross the walls, should be cut deeper than the portion above. 
If this is not done the ice which forms in the ends of these 
troughs will back the water up until it runs over the edges and 
down the walls of the cabin. It may even be necessary occa- 
sionally during the winter to clean the snow ofif the lower edge 
of the roof and clip the ice from the troughs with a hatchet. 
The steeper the roof the less trouble there will be from this 
source. 

With the roof completed our cabin becomes a real shelter 
and we can camp inside at night. If necessary the flooring may 
be postponed for a few days, but we may as well finish it at once, 
so we clean out the chips and commence laying the floor. This 
we make "of straight spruce poles about four or five inches thick. 
In the end of the camp where our beds are to be we leave them 
in their natural round state, merely flattening them on the under- 
side where they rest on the sills, to make them fit and lie firmly 
in their places. But when the floor has grown at this end to a 
width of about four feet we adopt a different plan. We now hew 
the poles straight and smooth on one side their entire length, and 



WOODCRAFT 



13 




THE DOOR. 



flatten the underside where they rest on the sills, also straighten 
the sides so they fit up snugly against one another. At the place 
where the stove is to be placed we leave an opening of two and 
a half by four feet, and around this place we fasten smooth pieces 
of wood about four inches thick, so that it makes of the open- 
ing a sort of box. When our floor is completed we nail down 
along each wall, a pole, which covers the ends of the floor poles 
and holds them all firmly in place. 

To complete our cabin now we need only a door, a window, 
and something to close the cracks. For a door we split cedar or 
balsam wood into planks, which we place on edge in notches cut 
in a log, and hew down smoothly on both sides with the axe. 



14 WOODCRAFT 

Then we straighten the edges and measuring our door frame 
carefully we fit the boards into the opening, binding them all 
together by nailing across near each end a narrow board. We 
also place a strip diagonally across the door from near one corner 
to the opposite, to stiffen the door and prevent' warping. Hinges 
we make of wood, fasten them together with a single large nail 
through each, and fasten the door to the wall. Then on the out- 
side we hew the ends of the logs until they are flush with the 
edges of the door frame, and nail a flattened strip along both 
sides of the doorway. This is not absolutely necessary, but it 
gives the doorway a more finished appearance, and increases the 
rigidity of the wall. 

Our window sash also makes considerable work. For this 
we split soft, dead cedar and hew it into three-inch strips. From 
these we make a frame that will fit inside the window boxing, 
and make the strips of this frame flush at the corners by cut- 
ting away half of each. Then at the proper places we fit our 
lighter cross strips, sinking them into the wood at the ends, and 
fastening with small nails. Grooves are then cut in the strips 
and the frame itself to receive the sheets of glass, which are put 
in place and fastened with tacks. The window is then placed in 
the wall and secured by nailing narrow strips of wood against it. 
As a window at its best is apt to admit a lot of cold air it will 
pay well to spend some time at this work and make the window 
fit snugly. 

All that now remains to be done is to close the cracks be- 
tween the logs. Since our logs were of a uniform size and have 
been well notched down there are no large cracks, and no block- 
ing is needed. The warmest chinking, outside of rags, which we 
do not have, is woods moss. That found growing on rocks and 
logs is best, for it does not dry out and shrink as much as marsh 
moss, and there is an abundance of this near at hand. We gather 
a few bags of this moss and with a piece of wood we drive it into 
the cracks all around the walls. We also keep a small quantity of 
this moss in the cabin, for no matter how firmly it is driven into 
the cracks it will shrink and become loose after awhile, and this 
must be tightened and more moss driven in. 

Our little cabin is now complete. It has taken much hard 
work to build it, but it is worth the effort for it is a comfortable, 
home-like camp. The cold winter winds may howl through the 
forest and the snow may fall to a depth of several feet, but here 
we can live as comfortably as woodsmen can expect to live in the 
wilds. 



WOODCRAFT 15 

FURNISHING THE HOME CAMP 

A single day's work will do wonders towards making a 
cabin comfortable. Sometimes through press of more impor- 
tant work, such as getting out a line of traps while the season 
is yet young, the trapper may well neglect these touches of com- 
fort, and the simplest of camp furnishings will answer until a 
stormy day keeps him indoors, when he can make good use of 
his time in making camp furniture. A bed and a stove or fire- 
place are the only absolutely necessary furnishings to start with, 
if other work demands immediate attention. 

But in our own case such neglect is not at all necessary. 
The preceding chapter saw our cabin completed, that is the 
walls, roof and floor, all that can really be called cabin, but 
much more work will be required before it is really comfortable 
and ready for occupancy. Providing the camp with suitable 
furniture and adding conveniences and comfort is the next step, 
so while we have time and there is nothing to hinder the work 
we will push it along. 

Most important of all camp furnishings is the stove. Noth- 
ing else adds so much to the cheerfulness and home-like aspect 
of a camp as a properly enclosed, well behaved fire, which warms 
up the room, enables us to cook our food indoors, and dispenses 
the gloom of night by driving the darkness into the farthest 
corners. If the weather is cold nothing in the camp is so indis- 
pensable. 

For the lodge which we built in the preceding chapter we 
will make a stove of sheet iron. I have made a number of camp 
stoves by riveting together four sections of new, unbent stove- 
pipe into a square sheet, bending this into proper shape, fitting 
ends, and cutting holes for cooking utensils and for the pipe. 
But for this camp we have secured from a hardware store a 
pipe of sheet iron three feet wide by four feet long. We now 
place this on the floor of the cabin and measure ofif from each 
end 17 inches, then on each edge at the 17-inch mark we make 
a three-inch cut. This we do by holding the sheet metal on a 
block or flat topped stump, placing the corner of the axe on the 
metal at the proper place, and striking on the head with a billet ' 
of wood. Theji we place a straight edged strip of wood across 
the end on the 17-inch mark, and standing on this wood we 
pull the end of the metal upward, bending it to a right angle. 
The other end is treated the same way and this leaves the metal 



i6 WOODCRAFT 

in the form of a box, three feet long, 17 inches high, and 14 
inches wide, open on top and at both ends. Now we turn this 
upside down and in the top we cut two seven-inch holes, as 
round as we can make them. These are to hold the cooking 
utensils. Near one end we cut a small hole, not more than 
three and a half inches in diameter. The edge of this hole we 
cut at intervals all the way around, making straight, one-half 
inch cuts. Then we turn these edges up, and we have a stove- 
pipe hole, with a collar to hold the pipe in place. We now close 
the rear end of the stove by bending three inches of the sides 
into a right angle, the same amount of the top being bent down. 
This is the purpose of the three-inch cuts we made when we 
first commenced the work. Now we rivet a piece of sheet-iron 
into this end, using for rivets the head ends of wire nails. They 
must be cut short and riveted on the head of an axe. Beneath 
the top of the stove, between the cooking holes we rivet a folded 
strip of metal; this is to stiffen th top. Then we turn in three 
inches of the front of the stove and rivet the corners where they 
lap. This leaves an eight-inch opening in front over which we 
will hinge a door. This door must have some kind of fastening, 
and a simple little twist of wire working in a punch hole is easily 
arranged and convenient. We can make a very crude stove of 
this if we like, but we do not want that kind, so we take plenty 
of time and turn out a satisfactory article. 

Our stove is now completed except for the covers which are 
easily made. We set it up in the box-shaped opening left in 
the floor and fill around it with sand to a height of six inches, 
also fill the inside to that height. While doing this we must 
see that the stove stands perfectly level, and that the pipe hole is 
directly beneath the hole in the roof. This makes a fireproof 
stove and the bed of sand holds it rigidly in place. A draft is 
made beneath the door by scraping away a little sand. The pipe 
is five-inch size and we fit it with a damper for that is the way 
to regulate the draft and keep the heat from going up the pipe. 

Our stove completed and in working order we next turn 
our attention to the bed, since it ranks second in importance. 
We set an upright post four inches thick and three feet long 
against the sidewall about five feet from the end of the room and 
nail it firmly in position. Then at a height of about two feet 
from the floor we fasten to the wall another four-inch piece, 
this extending in a horizontal position from the post to the end 
wall. Then we set up a corner post at the foot of the bed, plac- 



WOODCRAFT 




2 C 

THE STOVE. 1. BEFORE BENDING. 2. AFTER BENDING. 
3. STOVE COMPLETE. STAND IN SAND TO LINE A. 



i8 WOODCRAFT 

ing it five feet from the end wall and nailing the top securely to 
the roof binding pole. In line with this against the end wall we 
set up another three-foot post and spike it solidly to the logs of 
the wall. Then we cut notches in these two latter posts two 
feet above the floor and into this we fit and nail fast a four-inch 
cross strip. We now have the foundation for our bed and we 
make the bottom of straight, smooth poles, nailed fast to the 
horizontal ends. These poles must all be of about the same 
thickness to make a satisfactory bed, otherwise some of them 
will bend or spring while the stiff ones will not. If it were sum- 
mer now we would line this bunk with bark to keep the 
balsam needles from falling through, but since we cannot get 
bark at this time of year we cannot do this. We make the side 
and end of the bed by nailing poles against the posts. Then we 
fill the bed with balsam boughs. These are the ends of the 
branches and the heaviest stems are less than a fourth-inch thick. 
We commence at the head and stand the boughs on end at an 
angle, stems down. When entirely filled we have a soft and 
fairly comfortable bed, of course not equal to the spring bed v^e 
have at home, but then we are not expecting home comforts in 
the big woods, and we are ahvays tired enough to rest well in 
a bough bed. For pillows we use grain bags in which we place 
our extra clothing. 

This bed is at its best when freshly filled. Each night's 
use reduces its softness, and the comfort decreases at a like 
rate. The only way to keep a bough bed in good condition is 
to replace the bough filling occasionally with fresh evergreens. 
When we kill some big game animal, a deer or caribou, we will 
dry the skin and place it on our bed, hair side up, for this will 
make the bed warmer and softer. 

The table is next in order. Many trappers think a table too 
much of a luxury and accordingly dispense with it, but a home 
camp is far from complete without it and it is an easy piece of 
furniture to make. It should be placed on the south side of the 
cabin before the window, so that we can get the advantage of 
the light. We will stand up two posts of the proper height 
about two feet from the wall and six feet apart. These we secure 
in place by nailing them to the floor. From the tops of these 
posts to the wall we place flattened pieces of wood and secure 
them by nailing to the wall and to the posts. This is the founda- 
tion or framework for our table. The top we will make of three 
straight eight-inch logs hewn on one side to the center, and 



WOODCRAFT 



19 




CAMP FURNITURE. TABLE, BENCH AND LAMP SHELF. 



flattened on the other side at the ends. When placed on the 
supports, flat side up, and fastened by nailing at the ends, we 
have the table completed. It is rough, but it answers our pur- 
pose as well as a more finished one. 

In front of the table we will place a bench. This we will 
make from a hewn log, half round, and in the round side near 
each end we bore holes for the legs. These are bored at such 



20 WOODCRAFT 

an angle that the legs will stand about 20 inches apart at the 
base. The legs are made of two-inch sticks whittled to fit the 
holes and driven in, the lower ends being cut off afterwards at 
the proper length to make the bench stand firmly, and at the 
right height. We will also make another shorter bench which 
we will place by the side of the stove. Perhaps when a stormy 
day comes we will make a couple of chairs, but for the present 
at least these two benches will serve very well. 

We cannot be long in the woods until we realize the need 
of some means of securing our food where it will be inacces- 
sible to woods mice. These little creatures are a serious pest 
and can soon ruin a bag of flour or a side of bacon if they are 
able to get at it. In an efifort to place my flour where they could 
not reach it I suspended it from the ridgepole with a piece of 
codfish line, but the nimble mice went up and down that cord 
like monkeys. Then I made a platform and suspended it from 
the roof with four pieces of hay baling wire. On this I placed 
my food; but even here I found it was not safe, for the mice 
dropped onto the platform from the roof poles. The only way 
I found that was perfectly satisfactory was to make a tight box 
with a well fitted cover in which to keep the food supply. As a 
result I made a food box for each camp. 

We have now found that it is necessary to have some means 
of preserving our food from the ravages of mice, and profiting 
by experience we do not waste our time on theories, but set to 
work to make a tight wooden box. If it were a time of the year 
when bark would peel we would make a frame of poles and cover 
it with bark. But this is impossible now, so we split boards 
from balsam and cedar and hew them flat and smooth. For the 
ends we make these boards two feet long and fasten them 
together by nailing strips across the ends of the boards after 
they have been placed side by side with the edges fitting one 
against another. The boards for the bottom and sides are made 
three feet long and these we nail to the ends. The cover is 
fitted to the top, but is not fastened. 

Luxuries become necessities through use. The furnishings 
which we have so far brought into our cabin may be considered 
as coming properly under the heading of necessities. But there 
are many little extra pieces that may be added which may be 
called luxuries at first, but through use they become almost 
indispensable. On the walls we will build shelves and we find 
them very useful places for storing odds and ends. A small 



WOODCRAFT 21 

shelf is placed on the wall near the stove to hold the lamp, and 
another similar shelf for the same purpose is placed above the 
left end of the table. Then there are two or three longer shelves 
placed in convenient locations. These shelves are all made of 
hewn boards supported by stout pins driven into auger holes. 

If we are not by this time too tired of making boards with 
an axe, we will make a wooden tub in which to wash our clothes. 
Since we have a saw this is not as difficult as it first appears. It 
is made square with sloping sides. The boards must be care- 
fully fitted and securely nailed. Then, after we have made it as 
tight as possible by nailing we will gather a small quantity of 
spruce gum and run it into the cracks from the inside by means 
of a hot iron, in much the same way that we would solder tin 
plate. A wash basin can be made in the same way, but we have 
a tin basin in our outfit so we'll not need to make one. 

Behind the stove we nail a slender pole, horizontally, onto 
wooden pins driven into auger holes, so that the pole is parallel 
with the wall and about six or eight inches from it. On this 
pole we place our socks and mitts to dry when we come in from 
the day's tramp. We hang our coats on nails driven into the 
wall. Our snowshoes we suspend from the roof with snare wire 
in the coolest part of the camp, so that the mice cannot eat the 
filling or the heat make it brittle. 

Perhaps you would be interested in our camp outfit, for it is 
adapted to use in a camp of this kind. We have come into the woods 
for the fall and winter, and while we will go out occasionally for 
supplies of food, our outfit is supposed to be complete, and in it 
are all the articles needed for an entire winter's stay in the wilds. 
The following are the articles which we have brought with us 
as camp outfit: Two rabbit skin blankets, two large all-wool 
blankets, one large and one medium enameled kettle, two tea 
pails, one water pail, one large frying pan and two small ones, 
with sockets for handles, three enameled plates, two enameled 
cups, two table knives, two forks, two table spoons, two tea 
spoons, one reflecting baker, one wash basin, one small mirror, 
four towels, one alarm clock, one small oil lamp (bottom por- 
tion of a railroad lantern), three small axes with long handles, 
one cross-cut saw, one hand saw, two fiat files, two sharpening 
stones (pocket size), one auger, one hammer, assorted nails, a 
dozen small bags for holding food, a small box of medicines, and 
a repair kit, consisting of needles, thread, wax, scissors, awl and 
small pliers. 



22 WOODCRAFT ' 

The above is the actual camp outfit and does not y -^cliide 
personal belongings, such as guns, traps, toilet articles,,^ ^,o^- 
oasses clothnig, snowshoes, etc., things which are used more. . on 



nasses clotmng, snowbuucs, clv.., i.iiii*&,^ „..-^- _ 

die trail than in camp, and while necessary m our busmess ca. 
not rtohtfully be considered a part of the camp equipmen 
Even some ol the articles mentioned, for instance the two small \ 
frying pans, are more for use on the trail than in the home 

''^^This, and the preceding chapter, describe what to my mind 
is an ideal camp for two persons and a perfect equipment tor 
same The camp site described could not be improved upon, and 
t rseldom that we find all of the requirements in any one place 
vet the description is that of one of my own camp sites, and 
except for the size of camp and a few details o furnishings and 
outfif also describes one of my cabins, one which I constructed 
and used while trapping in Canada. 

OUTDOOR FOODS 

That foods for outdoor men should differ f^°;^\those eaten 
by people who work indoors may appear strange to some of us, , 
Kn^ ffis a fact that foods of the same class are not as a rule, 
prac ca for both outdoor and indoor consumption. Jhe ir^quire^ ^ 
mens of people who work in the open air differ, but little rom 
Sose of the indoor workers, but it is mainly the source of supply 
that necessitates a different class of foods 

The indoor man lives in the midst of pienty. Almost any 

the delivery rnan brings the goods to his back door His better 
half or Perl^ps a hired cook, prepares the food for him and 
he need not even worry about the time required for cooking or 
the work necessary to prepare and place the viands before him^ 
But\wth th; outdoor man, by which I ^^an, woodsman and 
others who are employed outdoors and do their own cooking 
far from a base of supplies, the conditions are altogether differ- 
ent Perhaps the outer has carried his food a long_ distance on 
Ws back or it may have been brought to his camp m a boat or 
canoe or by eam over a long and rough road, or even packed on 
horseback from 50 to 100 miles into the rough mountams. In 
either case it was necessary for him to select foods havmg cer-; 
?dn qual ties. In order to keep the bulk and weight down to a 



WOODCRAFT 23 

reasonable level all bulky, heavy, watery foods had to be elimi- 
nated. Such foods as would freeze in cold weather, decay, be- 
come rancid, or otherwise spoil if kept a long time without spec- 
ial care, had to be kept out of the Hst. Also such articles as do 
not contain much nutriment must be avoided, as well as those 
which are apt to prove harmful when used regularly. Not only 
that, but the entire outfit of food must be "well balanced," that 
is, it must have about the right proportions of the various food 
elements required by the human body. Too much salt pork and 
other preserved foods, with too little fresh food, may cause scurvy ; 
various articles which are known to be difficult of digestion may 
cause chronic dyspepsia, while many constipating foods may in 
a different way lead to the same trouble. In addition nothing 
should be taken which is difficult to transport or apt to get broken 
and cause trouble while en route. 

To sum it all up, the requirements in outdoor foods that 
are to be taken some distance to camp are as follows : First, 
reasonably light weight and small bulk; second, good keeping 
qualities; third, a high per cent, of nutrition; fourth, balance and 
total absence of injurious properties; fifth, adaptability to pack- 
ing and transportation requirements. We might add to this the 
quahty of being quickly and easily prepared, for, while this is 
not required in all of the food, it is necessary for all outdoor 
men to have a number of articles which may be prepared on short 
notice. 

Breakfast in the woods is usually an early meal, in winter 
being invariably eaten before daylight, and this requires either 
quickly prepared foods or very early rising. Often, too, the 
woodsman comes in from a tramp long after dark. He has had 
a long, hard journey, perhaps having had only a lunch since day- 
break, maybe not even that, and the cold, along with the exer- 
tion, has given him a marvelous appetite. On such occasions 
every minute that can be gained in cooking a nourishing meal is 
that much to the good. But short-order meals are not the thing 
for regular fare, for in time they will ruin any stomach. 

Considering the first requisite, light weight and little bulk, 
we may include in our list as meeting these requirements, all 
kinds of dried fruits, vegetables, and meats, tea, coffee and con- 
densed foods. Fresh vegetables and fruits are excluded from 
the list, for they are heavy and bulky and fail also in the second 
requirement, for they freeze easily in cold weather and some- 
times do not keep well when it is warm. To make up for the 
lack of fresh fruits and vegetables we must take plenty of the 



24 WOODCRAFT 

dry kind, and it is also a good plan to have in the outfit V)ottle 
of vinegar or fruit juice — lime juice is an excellent tonic /S^, ^ge 
in the woods and is a sure preventative of scurvy. Vegetahl''^'|j'^ ^^^ 
fruit in tin or glass are also prohibitive except in a small'-^ way, 
as, for instance, the fruit juice, vinegar, pickles and condenV ^^^ 
milk, all of which may be taken in small quantities. In generS^, i 
however, canned goods should be avoided unless the trip is made 
by wagon or other means that does not prohibit taking heavy 
goods, in which case a quantity of food in tins may be taken. 
Eggs and other ultra-perishable goods are strictly prohibited. 
The taking of eggs and food in glass also violates requisite num- 
ber live, for all such articles require far more care in handling 
than is practical on the bush trail. 

Not only does the woodsman have to consider cooking and 
eating in camp but he must think as well of the many days that 
he will spend on the trail and there his food must be of the 
most condensed, light, nutritious and otherwise perfect form. 
He must therefore take with him to his home camp sufficient of 
this quality of food to fill his needs when he makes his long- 
trips away from camp over the trap line or elsewhere, but al- 
ways carrying with him his equipment and food for the trip. 

A man can depend to some extent on game and fish, but if 
he is going far back into the wilderness where he cannot retreat 
in a day or two to civilization and a source of food supply he 
should be very sure that the game and fish are actually found in 
the place where he is going, that such game and fish will be 
available at all seasons, and that there will be no uncommon 
difficulty in securing it. Some kinds of big game animals migrate 
periodically or spasmodically; fish are sometimes hard to find in 
winter, and the hunting equipment may for one reason or another 
go wrong. For instance, the capsizing of a canoe may mean the 
loss of the only gun or all the ammunition in the party, and even 
a broken gun mainspring may cause great hardship. Of course 
a resourceful and expert woodsman would not starve even if 
turned adrift in the forest without food or gun, but few care to 
make the experiment or to risk going hungry. Therefore I 
advise taking enough food, so that it will not be necessary to 
depend on game. If there is game to be had it should, of 
course, be secured, for fresh meat is a great relief from the ever- 
lasting bacon and bannock and it tends to neutralize the con- 
stipating properties of such food. It is possible for one to live 
indefinitely on fresh meat and fish alone if forced to it; but the 
civilized appetite does not accept gracefully any such radical 



WOODCRAFT 25 

departures from what has now become the natural line of 
food. Moreover, the man who elects to live on game and fish 
alone must of necessity go hungry for long periods, in fact may 
be forced to face starvation when game is scarce and for one 
reason or another difificult to secure. Therefore the woodsman 
should not attempt to live wholly on fresh meat or to make so 
much allowance for game that he will suffer from hunger if the 
game is not procurable. No such sacrifice should be made merely 
to reduce the weight of the outfit. 

Coming now to the matter of keeping qualities we find that 
any of the evaporated, dried or condensed foods on the market 
meet all requirements. Bacon, cured for winter use, may not 
remain in a perfectly sweet condition, and it is well to make sure 
before purchasing that the meat is well salted and smoked. 
Butter may become strong unless the weather is cold, but I have 
found that first-class creamery butter will keep nicely for a period 
of two and a half months in fairly cold weather. For a longer 
trip canned butter should be procured. It may be purchased in 
Canada from almost any grocer located in an outfitting point. 
While potatoes and other fresh vegetables are prohibited because 
of weight and bulk they are also eliminated from the list because 
they freeze in cold weather. A trapper must often be away from 
camp for a period of time varying from a few days to a week or 
more and anything that can freeze will surely do so in one night 
of "40 below" weather. As an exception to this rule I advise 
taking a few onions, for in spite of their weight they are a food 
worth considering. They freeze as readily as potatoes, but if 
they are kept frozen until time for use it will not hurt them in the 
least. There are many dishes that are greatly improved by an 
onion flavor and I am very fond of this evil-smelling vegetable 
when sliced and fried with steak. Ordinary canned goods con- 
taining water are tabooed in cold weather, for they freeze and 
burst the cans, besides falling short in the first requirement of 
camp foods, namely, light weight. 

Nutrition in foods is a quality which needs but little expen- 
diture of gray matter if one does not attempt to live a long 
period on an unvaried line. By taking a variety of foods and 
changing the menu frequently danger from lack of nutriment 
is reduced to the minimum. Condensed and dried foods are 
invariably very nutritious. With fresh meat occasionally the 
foods which I recommend will meet all requirements in this 
particular. 



26 WOODCRAFT 

What has been said on the subject of nutrition in . camp 
foods will suffice for the fourth requisite — perfect balanc.:e and 
lack of injurious elements. While I would not advise thet; use of 
one or two articles of food as a steady diet the kind I'rr^me 
in the lists given herewith, if used in the proportions given am."^ 
a little fresh meat or fish can be sandwiched in here and there, 
no bad results will follow. On the other hand, if any of the 
articles, or especially a line of articles like the dried fruits, are 
omitted, I would not be responsible for the good health of 
the user. 

Within the borders of civilization, and especially with those 
people doing office work or following any indoor occupation 
which does not require plenty of bodily exertion, constipation 
is a serious menace, in fact I think it is the cause of many ills 
which are generally attributed to other sources. In the woods 
it is somewhat different, for the long tramps and other violent 
exercises tend to keep the bowels open, but it is not so with 
all men, and especially with those who hail from the city. Even 
the seasoned woodsman should not trifle with anything of so 
serious a nature, for even to him chronic constipation may come 
as the result of a steady diet of white flour and other consti- 
pating foods. In the lists which I give the foods most harm- 
ful in this way are wheat flour, especially when used in baking 
powder bread, cheese, rice, beans and peas. The foods most 
valuable for ofifsetting the bad effects of the above are the dried 
fruits, especially prunes, and cornmeal. Fresh meat and onions 
act as laxatives also, but too much of any of these foods may 
cause the system to fortify itself against them and their good 
effects are reduced greatly. Many kinds of food are difficult*^ 
to digest; but it should be remembered that all stomachs are 
not alike and what is indigestible for one man is easily assimi- 
lated by another. The only way to learn what foods are harm- 
ful and which ones are not is by trying them, but this should be 
done and the results known before going into the woods. 

Tea and coffee are used extensively in the woods because 
they are very refreshing to tired travelers. Tea is especially 
invigorating. But both of these drinks, if used in excess, are 
harmful. Coffee injures the nervous system directly, while indi- 
rectly it works on other organs, and tea is injurious to the 
stomach, also the nerves. Taken in reasonable amount these 
drinks will do no harm, but they should never be used to the 



WOODCRAFT 27 

exclusion of water. The latter is the natural drink and we 
cannot use too much. 

The fifth requirement in camp foods is one that must not 
be forgotten. On a long trip into the bush the outfit is sure to 
get a certain amount of rough usage; a pack strap may give 
way or the packer may stumble or slip and down goes the pack. 
With but few exceptions, then, everything which will not stand 
a reasonable amount of rough handling has no right to a place 
on the outer's list. The exceptions are a few articles which 
when taken in small quantities must be put up in glass and these 
few foods are pickles, vinegar and others of similar nature. If 
any other less breakable container can be found for these it is 
better to use it, but if these foods are in bottle same must be 
carefully packed to prevent breakage. Eggs are the most un- 
satisfactory of all foods for transportation into the wilds, for 
they are easily broken, cannot be kept during cold weather and 
spoil quickly when the weather is mild. 

This is not an article on packing or otherwise transporting 
outfits into the bush, but I wish to say this in regard to pack- 
ing foods, that all packages and containers should be as light as 
possible consistent with strength and durability. Paper sacks 
are not the proper thing, for they are so easily torn. It is by 
far the better plan to have small duck or muslin bags for all dry 
foods. Nothing should be taken if put up in wooden boxes or 
other containers having sharp edges or corners, but all such 
articles should be removed and placed in the cloth sacks. If 
this is impossible it is better to eliminate such goods from 
the list. 

To give a list of foods which are suitable for steady diet in 
the wilds is easy, and it may be a perfect list, well balanced, 
nourishing and having all the other desirable qualities, yet it may 
not be satisfactory for general use. Individual tastes do not all 
follow the same channels and there are no end of people who 
could pick from any list of foods that I might give a number of 
articles which they cannot eat or which are not received kindly 
by their respective systems. Another thing is the difference in 
quantity of food consumed by different men. While a life in the 
open air with continuous physical exercise from before daylight 
until after dark develops an appetite in any man, with some 
men their appetites seem absolutely insatiable and they consume 
enormous quantities of food. It is therefore difficult to give a 
list which may be taken as an accurate guide and approximate 



28 WOODCRAFT 

quantities only can be given, these being in the present z^^'- \ 
based on what I consider a normal woodsman's appetite. 't ^^ ■. 
in the following lists quantities intended for one manV^^ 
month's use and if the lists look good they may be used'*''^^A 
basis on which to figure the amounts of food required for ^5; 
length of time. 

List No. I. — Twenty pounds wheat flour and ten pounds corn- 
meal, or 25 pounds wheat flour and five pounds cornmeal; one 
and a half pounds best baking powder, free of alum; three 
pounds table salt (this is more than necessary for food, but 
allows for preserving game) ; ten pounds bacon or five pounds 
bacon and five pounds salt pork; one pound lard or "Crisco" 
(this is seldom needed if all bacon grease is saved and used for 
cooking); three pounds creamery or canned butter; 10 pounds 
beans, small or large, as preferred; four pounds split peas; 
five pounds evaporated fruit, either apples, apricots or peaches, 
assorted if desired; four pounds prunes; six pounds sugar 
(seven pounds if used in tea and coffee) ; two pounds tea (black, 
green or mixed) or three pounds ground coffee in airtight tins; 
one bottle, about two pounds, sour pickles; four pounds evap- 
orated, unsweetened milk in small size tins; two pounds cheese; 
one ounce black pepper. Eighty-seven and a half to 89^ pounds 
total weight. 

The foregoing is my standard list on which I have based 
many a purchase of supplies, and while I vary quantities some- 
times, and add luxuries now and then, the list alone, just as 
given, makes an excellent one for real woods trips. 

In the following I have cut down the quantities of ^ome 
articles and added the equivalent in other goods, thus giving 
greater variety and making a ration that is less apt to grow 
tiresome in time. 

List No. 2. — Eighteen pounds wheat flour and five pounds 
cornmeal; two pounds crackers or soda biscuits; one pound 
of best baking powder; three pounds table salt; six pounds 
bacon and four pounds salt pork; three and a half pounds 
creamery or canned butter; seven pounds beans; three pounds 
split peas; five pounds evaporated fruits, assorted as desired; 
four pounds prunes; eight pounds sugar; two pounds tea or 
three pounds coffee, ground and in airtight tins; two-pound bot- 
tle sour pickles; five pounds evaporated milk in small tins; four 
pounds rice; one pound seeded raisins; two ounces cinnamon; 
one ounce black pepper; two pounds cheese; five pounds Ber- 



< 



WOODCRAFT 29 

muda onions. Ninety and a half pounds to 91I/2 pounds total 
weight. 

I think the above list will be more generally satisfactory 
than the first, but if the camper has preferences in regard to the 
kind of food selected he may use these lists only as a basis on 
which to figure. The weights given are net and do not include 
extra containers. It will be noted that the total weight is nearly 
the same in both; but the second allows for a more varied menu. 
I have added to this one four pounds of rice. The raisins, with 
the additional sugar and milk, are mainly for this dish. I have 
also added an extra half-pound of butter, for it will be needed to 
make rice pudding. The cinnamon is for use in apple sauce and 
on rice. By eliminating the crackers and half the salt a couple 
of pounds of oatmeal and a brick of maple sugar may be added, 
thereby again increasing the number of items without additional 
weight and making a good wholesome breakfast dish (oatmeal 
porridge), or one that can be prepared quickly, also providing 
syrup for the pancakes — "white hopes," as one of m.y camping 
companions called them. 

Some of the above-named foods can be cooked satisfactorily 
only in the permanent camp, while others are suitable for use 
in camp or on the trail. When making long tramps away from 
my cabin and camping out at night by the side of a fire I like to 
travel as lightly equipped as possible without sacrificing com- 
fort, therefore I carry very little camp equipment and especially 
few cooking utensils. This necessitates the use of very simple, 
easily prepared dishes. Ordinarily I carry only the following 
foods: Flour mixed with the proper amount of baking powder 
and salt; bacon, sliced and with the rind removed; oatmeal, 
sugar, butter, tea, and a small sack containing a few ounces 01 
salt. The latter is for use in cooking game killed during the 
day. It will be obvious then that if the camper follows my 
plan he must base his quantities of these articles on the propor- 
tion of time which he believes will be spent on the trail or 
camping out. If the time so spent will be limited he can cut 
down slightly on the amounts of these foods and add others 
more to his liking if he wishes, but, on the other hand, if he 
expects to do much camping out he must increase the quantity 
of such foods as can be used on the trail. 

Judging from my own experience it is easier to choose good 
camp foods than to know which to use from the list for a meal 
and how to prepare them. On stormy days, or when for any 



30 WOODCRAFT 

other reason the camper is spending sufficient time at the main 
cabin, he can cook such foods as beans, split peas, rice, game, 
salt pork and dried fruits, also can make good use of the maple 
syrup and other luxuries. For short order meals, as, for 
instance, when returning to camp long past meal time and in a 
half famished condition, oatmeal porridge, bannock ('baking 
powder bread), bacon and tea or coffee will generally satisfy. 
Here, for instance, is a good menu for a day when the hunter or 
trapper wants to make a journey away from the main camp, 
returning late in the afternoon. He rises early in the morning 
and prepares breakfast of coffee, pancakes, maple syrup a.nd 
bacon, or, perhaps, has fried venison, moose or caribou steak. 
Immediately after breakfast he places over the fire a kettle of 
beans with a piece of salt pork and he boils this until he is 
ready to leave camp, which may be an hour later. While the 
beans are cooking and he is waiting for daylight he prepares 
the outfit which he will take with him for the day. His lunch 
will be creackers, or if not too cold a piece of bannock, a few 
slices of bacon, a small piece of cheese and tea. The bushman 
always carries a small tea pail with him, if only a tin can fitted 
with a wire bail. He returns about sunset and as soon as he 
has made a fire he places over it the partly cooked pork and 
beans. By the time they have finished cooking he has baked a 
bannock, stewed some fruit or prunes, or made rice pudding. 
Thus he goes on day after day, varying his menu as far as 
possible, as well as his methods of preparing the foods. 

In the lists which I have given I have purposely refrained 
from naming the many prepared and condensed camp foods, 
because my experience with most of them has been limited and 
many of them I have never even tasted. I refer to such articles 
as dessicated vegetables, dried eggs, milk powder, erbswurst, 
pemmican, saccarine, tea tablets, soup tablets, etc. 

Before closing I would like to say a few words in regard 
to game and fish as food. While I do not advise making much 
allowance for them when purchasing supplies the man who goes 
into the wilds to camp should avail himself of any opportunity 
which offers to secure game and fish for his use, but he should, 
of course, never kill more than is needed, and unless driven to 
it by hunger should not kill protected game out of season. If 
he kills more than he can use at the time and the weather is too 
warm to keep it without curing he should dry the meat and he 
will find it an excellent article for lunches and when camping 



WOODCRAFT 31 

out. But what I wanted to get at is this, that many animals 
which are seldom considered as fit for food and are generally 
thrown away or used for bait are really fine food and by using 
them there will be less need of violating the game laws. Among 
the animals which are trapped and may be used for food are 
bears (when killed in fall or winter), muskrats, raccoons, opos- 
sums and beavers. Woodchucks are not bad eating if properly 
cooked, but they can only be secured in summer. The porcupine 
is another animal which may be eaten, although I cannot say 
that the meat is palatable. Many people in Canada eat the 
flesh of lynx, but I draw the line on carnivorous animals. T 
have tried it, in fact, I have eaten all the animals named above. 
My parting advice is to practice economy. The food which 
has been transported over so many miles of rough trail by the 
hardest kind of toil should never be wasted. The saving habit 
is a good one to grow into and it can be practiced as well in the 
woods as in our own homes. 



FIRES FOR VARIOUS USES 

Most fires to-day are started by means of matches, so, as a 
starting place we will first consider the match. Insignificant 
little stick — 500 for five cents — yet that tiny match can start 
a fire that would destroy a city or lay a hundred miles of forest 
in ruin! Many a life has been saved by a match, and many 
millions, yes billions of dollars worth of property has been 
destroyed by the same insignificant little stick. It is on one hand 
one of the greatest providers of comfort that science has pro- 
duced, and on the other the most powerful destroyer known to 
man. There are various kinds of matches, each having prop- 
erties peculiar to itself, but we will compare only the most 
common kinds and judge them from the woodsman's standpoint. 

I believe the first matches to come into use were made 
of a sulpljurous compound and such matches are still used in 
large quantities in Canada. They are generally considered 
superior to ordinary parlor matches for woodsman's use, but I 
cannot see that they possess any advantages whatever. They 
are just as difficult to light as parlor matches, if not more so, 
just as easily blown out, and just as susceptible to dampness. 
They are noiseless, which is in their favor, but they throw off 
disagreeable fumes when lighted. They are reliable matches for 



32 WOODCRAFT 

the woodsman, although I would take parlor matches in prefer- 
ence. 

We have also the little, so-called "safety" matches now so 
much used by smokers. They are convenient for carrying and 
get their name from their refusal to light when struck on any 
surface other than the side of the 'box in which they are packed. 
But this very quality makes them unfit to light a fire in a wind if 
one must hold in his hand the match-box as well as the burn- 
ing match, for he cannot "cup" his hands perfectly. This is 
worth remembering, for out of doors, there is nearly always 
enough wind to make trouble when building a fire. Another 
fault of the safety match is its small size; it is apt to be entirely 
consumed before the fire can be started. The parlor match then 
is the match for the woodsman, and he should have a bountiful 
supply when he turns his back on civilization. 

The stock of matches should be kept in a waterproof case 
of some kind. A screw top jar is very good if one has it in 
camp, but glassware is not practical for camping trips and 
something less fragile but equally waterproof should be found. I 
have a kodak tank developing outfit, the metal tank of which is 
excellent for holding matches. The cover locks on by a partial 
turn and is watertight, while the tank holds enough matches 
for a whole winter's use. 

Of course the woodsman will carry with him on his sojourns 
from camp only a small quantity of matches and at least a few 
of them should either be so treated as to render them imper- 
vious to water, or be carried in a watertight box. It sometimes 
happens that the traveler in the woods gets caught in a drench- 
ing rain, or he may fall into the water, and unless some provi- 
sion has been made for keeping the matches dry there will be 
no more smokes or tea until he gets back to camp. Sometimes 
more serious consequences may follow such negligence; for 
instance, the traveler may break through the ice and without a 
fire may freeze to death. Almost every outdoor man can recall 
instances where dry matches would at least have add^d mat^er- 
ially to his comfort. ) 

There are various ways of waterproofing matches. Tfhey 
may be dipped in melted paraffine, which will keep them per- 
fectly dry, and when the protecting wax is removed they wiPl be 
in first class condition. Varnishes of one kind or another will 
serve the same purpose. J 

But a waterproof box is more reliable and convenient. 



WOODCRAFT 



23 




A FIRE FOR RAINY DAYS. 

There is one match-box on the market that is very efficient. It 
is somewhat difficult to open, especially when one's hands are 
cold, but for all of that it is the best thing I know of, and as its 
contents are to be used only in emergency cases the woodsman 
may be content with the box as it it. I have seen match-boxes 
made from brass shotgun shells which were practically water- 
proof if kept tightly closed, but sometimes it is difficult to remove 
the cover. A small glass bottle is also good for carrying 
matches and is frequently used for this purpose. 

It is an easy matter to light a match; but to start a fire is 
something different, and to build a fire when the wind is blow- 
ing is often difficult. Even the simple lighting of a pipe in the 
wind is very uncertain with many smokers. I have seen men 
out in an exposed place strike match after match in a vain 
endeavor to light a pipe. Yet rightly done the trick is easy. 
It is all right to get behind a tree if one is near; but it is not 
at all necesatiry. In all cases the man should turn his face 
towards the wind and as soon as he strikes the match, form a 
cup of his hands and thus shelter the burning match. Then it 
is easy to thrust the bowl of the pipe into his hands to the burn- 
ing match. A fire can be started in the same way, but it is a 
little more difficult and less certain. The kindling must be prop- 
erly arranged with the part to be lighted projecting towards the 



34 WOODCRAFT 

breeze, and sufficiently separated from other objects, so that the 
fire builder may enclose this part in the shelter of his hands, 
along with the match, and thus protect the flame until the kin- 
dling is fairly lighted. Often a sheet of bark dropped against 
the tiny flame will protect it until it gathers strength. A dry 
surface on which to strike a match is essential and the woods- 
man must use his knowledge of suitable surfaces to help him 
out of his trouble. A pocket match-box usually has one side 
roughened for this purpose. A very practical idea is to sew 
a small strip of emery cloth on the inside of the coat, the upper 
half being loose so that it folds down over the other half and 
thus keeps the rough surface from contact with the clothing. 
The back of a pocket-knife, the butt plate of a gun, or a key 
may also be made to answer. Of natural surfaces the side of a 
stone or the dry trunk of a tree may serve. But the most com- 
mon scheme is to utilize the trouser leg for striking matches and 
as long as the clothing is dry it is certainly the most convenient 
surface for this purpose. 

When a match gets wet, if the head is not so much softened 
that it rubs of¥ the stick, there is hope. Rubbing the match 
through the hair will dry it in- an amazingly short time. 

There is no right or wrong way to make a fire unless it is to 
be used for some special purpose, in which case we must know 
how the fire is to be used and build it accordingly. As a rule 
a cooking fire is built dififerently from one that is designed 
merely to give warmth. But we must always take into consider-* 
ation the strength of the wind, whether the fire is for boiHng,|^ 
baking or frying food, and whether a quick or slow heat is 
wanted, for each and all call for a different kind of fire. The 
variety of wood and its condition must also be considered. 

For most kinds of cooking only a small fire is required 
fact we get better results from a small flame. But it is essen- 
tial that we have some arrangement whereby the cooking uten- 
sils will be held steadily and securely. The most common prac- 
tice is to place the kettle or frying pan on top of the fuel, shift- 
ing the wood about until the utensils set level. It is about the 
most unsatisfactory method, outside of holding ttiem by hand, 
and many a meal has been upset into the fire simply because the 
cook would not take the trouble to provide a suitable place to 
prepare the meal. The simplest way of suspending a kettle over 
the fire is by hanging it from the end of a stick which has been 
thrust into the ground at an angle of about 20 degrees. In the 

I 



"1 

n-l 



WOODCRAFT 35 

woods of the north this method is used generally for boiling. 
When the bushman stops for tea, which is always the most 
essential and important part of his repast, he builds a fire, then 
cuts a stick an inch or a little more in thickness and about four 
feet long, and thrusts it into the ground in such a way that when 
the tea-pail is suspended from the end it hangs at just the right 
height above the fire. Only a small fire is required, but it should 
give a clear, steady flame, for the water should be brought to a 
boil quickly 

For frying, baking, etc., I find an arrangement of two small 
green logs, flattened on top and bottom, and placed side by side 
about a half foot apart, the most satisfactory thing for holding 
the utensils securely. Between these logs a small fire is made, 
and there is no danger of the food spilling into the fire, or the 
handles of the utensils becoming so hot that they have to be 
moved with sticks. For a single utensil, like a frying pan, I find 
two straight-sided stones placed the right distance apart, fully as 
good as the logs, and only a few embers from the camp fire will 
be needed for the cooking. 

Almost everybody who camps for the night builds a camp- 
fire, in fact, without it a camp would seem far from complete, 
even though the night is a warm one. Cooking, however, should 
be done over a smaller fire placed nearby. 

There are a lot of little helpful wrinkles regularly used by 
woodsmen that can hardly be imparted to the green-hand 
because of their number, their insignificance, and the fact that 
each must be adapted to the prevailing condition, but they imme- 
diately brand tb.e user as an old hand at the game. They are 
simply the result of experience and are used almost uncon- 
sciously. I refer to such things as the manner of placing wood 
on the fire, handling embers, moving cooking utensils, etc. It 
is the knowledge of how to do such little things as this that 
makes the work of the expert look so easy and run along so 
smoothly, while Mr. Amateur is having all kinds of trouble. 
There is no way to acquire this knowledge except by long exper- 
ience, or by working in company with one who has "been 
there." 

I know a way of building a very good combination heating 
and cooking fire, which may be used during rainy weather more 
satisfactorily than any other kind with which I am acquainted. 
Two small green logs about five feet long, are placed side by 
side about 20 inches apart. Two shorter logs are then placed 



36 WOODCRAFT 

across the ends and another five-foot log laid lengthwise on top. 
The fire is huilt between the two bottom logs and directly under 
the one which has been placed on top. Then pieces of green 
wood are stood up against one side so that they rest against the 
top and one of the bottom logs. This forms a roof over the fire 
and the cooking is done over the open front, between the logs. 
The roof burns away slowly on the under side and as the sticks 
burn ofif they are added to the fire beneath and others placed on 
top to keep the roof built up. This is a good style of fire to 
reflect heat into the camp and is excellent for use with a metal 
baker. 

The regulation method of building a fire for heating an 
open-camp is to place it against a large green log, or against a 
ledge of rock, a wall of stones built up artificially, or a pile of 
short green logs resting against two stakes which have been 
driven at a slight incline. The fire burns best when there are 
two short pieces of wood placed crosswise on the ground on 
which the fuel may rest and leave an opening for draft beneath. 
Green wood is best for holding fire; but it must be mixed with 
good dry wood, or it will not burn well. The selection of wood 
for the camp-fire is important. Standing dead trees are always 
drier than those which have fallen, unless the fallen trees are 
held up sufficiently above the ground to keep them well dried. 
Wood cut on low, damp ground is not as good as that found on 
higher places and usually pops and throw sparks into the 
blankets, which make it objectionable. 

Almost all kinds of dry, hard wood burn readily and throw 
off plenty of heat. They also burn to embers and hard wood 
therefore should be selected when a bed of live coals is needed. 
Of the soft wood dry pine and cedar burn freely, but are con- 
sumed cjuickly, leave-no embers and make a lot of smoke. They 
are excellent wood for kindling and for use in connection with 
green, hard wood. Green pine, cedar, fir and tamarack burn 
slowly and require much dry wood to help keep them burning. 
White bir-ch is excellent for camp-fires; dry or green and dry 
tamarack is one of the best of camp-fire woods. 

There are various woods that answer well for kindling and 
the camper must always find something that will be good for this 
purpose. Dry white-pine and cedar shavings and splints light 
readily from the match, but dead "fat" pine is much better. 
Pine knots, remaining after the log has rotted away, when 
split are heavy and yellow with dried pitch and if split int«) 



WOODCRAFT 



Z7 








FIRES FOR COOKING. 



38 



WOODCR/^.FT 




\ ! 



LIGHTING A MATCH IN THE WIND. 



Splinters will burn like oil. An old pine log is often in the same 
condition, and if the camper can find any wood of this kind he 
should take some to camp so that he will not need to hunt about 
for a suitable wood for starting a fire. In the north where there 
is little pine timber such kindling is scarce; but nature has pro- 
vided an excellent substitute in white-birch bark. The loose 
bark hanging to the tree trunks contains an oil which causes it to 
light readily from the match and burn with a bright fllame and a 
hissing noise. When traveling in the northern bush during cold 
weather I frequently carried a bunch of birch bark in the top of 
my pack, so that if I wanted to build a fire quickly I would not 
have to hunt for kindling. 

There is one more woodcraft trick that I think everybody 
who goes into the woods should know. While the woodsman 
invariably carries an axe with which to cut firewood, there may 
come a time when he has no axe and is obliged to camp out over 
night. Then getting together sufficient wood to keep fire over 
night is a real problem. Sometimes he can find a place where 
one tree has fallen across another, or if not, perhaps he can 
throw one over the other, and at the place where they cross he 
should build his fire. Then when the logs burn through he can 



WOODCRAFT 39 

I 

nove them and either keep shoving the ends into the fire as 
hey burn away, or perhaps cross the pieces again and burn them 
nto shorter and lighter pieces which can be handled readily. 

In building any kind of a fire the camper should remember 
;hat flame naturally moves upward, so that the wood should be 
ighted from beneath. It is hard to get a fire started in any other 
vvay. He should also remember that the wind drives the fire 
forward and should light the wood under the windward side. 
The finest kindling should be placed first, then finely split dry 
wood on top, coarser wood on top of this, etc. The heavy wood 
should never rest too much on the kindling or the latter will be 
crushed down into such a dense mass that it will not burn and 
the wood must never be placed so that the sticks fit closely 
together; a criss-cross style is much better. These are all sim- 
ple little rules and easy to remember, but it is necessary to know 
them that camp-fire troubles may be avoided. 

• 

FIRE 

The most common- way of building a fire among savages 
who have not adopted the ways of civilization is by means of 
a bow, spindle and block. 

This way of making fire has been exploited by writers on 
woodcraft subjects; but the reader should not be deceived into 
the belief that if he becomes lost in the woods and night coming 
on finds him without matches, he can build a fire by this means. 
While any boy scout can demonstrate the method and can pro- 
duce fire in a very few minutes, he can do so only by having 
prepared the necessary materials long in advance. The wood 
must be as dry as wood can be made, and such wood is never 
found in the forest. To get wood into the proper condition for 
fire making by the friction method requires the selection first of 
the proper kind of wood, and then a thorough drying indoors 
for weeks or even months. Only certain kinds of woods are 
really good for the purpose and among these kinds cedar, balsam 
and Cottonwood seem to be the best. Spindle and block must 
be of the same kind of wood and equally dry. 

The materials needed for making a fire are the bow, spindle, 
block, tinder, and a shell, a stone with a small cavity, or other 
similar object which can be used as a bearing or cap on top of 
the spindle. A mussel shell is the best natural object for the 



40 



WOODCRAFT 




USING THE BOW DRILL IN MAKING FIRE. 



purpose, as it is light and has a hollow side which is smooth 
and makes an excellent bearing for the spindle end. 

The bow, about two feet long, may be made of hickory or 
any springy wood, strung with a stout, hard laid twine. The 
spindle, of any of the favorite woods, should 'be about sixteen 
inches long by three-fourths or one inch in thickness. Tl^e top 
should be rounded and the lower end shaped to a blunt, smooth 
point. It must be very dry. The block should be an inch or a 
little more in thickness and of any width and length found con- 
venient, but it should be large enough to be easily held down 
firmly with the knees when in the kneeling position assurnft-a 
v/hen working the drill. It should be of the same kind (^'l wood 
as the spindle. The tinder may be any inflammable ^material 
which can easily be fired from the burning dust, suc.^i as_ the 
shredded inner bark of a cedar tree, very dry and finje, mixed 
with shreds of white cotton cloth, [ 

To use the outfit the operator cuts a V-shaped notf^h about 
three-quarters of an inch deep in the edge of the block,. On the 
flat side of the block at the apex of the notch he then makes a 
small hole with the point of a knife as a starting place for the 
spindle. Around this notch he places a small quantity of the 



WOODCRAFT 41 

;inder. Then, giving the string of the bow a turn around the 
jpindle he kneels on the block, places the point of the spindle 
n the mark at the point of the notch, places the shell over the 
Dther end, and throwing his weight upon the spindle he works 
':he bow back and forth quickly and steadily. The spindle, 
revolving rapidly, bores its way down into the block, the dust 
which is worn from the block and spindle filtering down through 

I [he notch among the dry tinder. An increasing heat develops 
from the friction of the dry wood, and soon an odor of scorch-- 
ing wood will be noticed; then a thin wisp of smoke arises from 
the dust in the notch and this grows stronger, after awhile the 
' smoldering fire itself is visible in the dust which has accumu- 
j lated in the notch and about the base of the spindle. At this 
I stage the operator stops the drill and blows the lire into flame. 
All that is necessary then is to place fine, dry twigs over the 
tinder and then coarser wood, and this wonderful feat of build- 
ing a fire without matches is accomplished. 

Matches are a comparatively recent invention. When this 
country v/as first settled they were unknown and fires generally 
were made by means of fiint and steel. By striking glancing 
blows with a steel object along the edge of a piece of flint, 
showers of sparks were thrown into a little pile of tinder to be 
blown into a fiam.e by the fire-kindler. It is said that for an 
expert the trick was not at all difficult, and that fire could be 
produced very quickly; but it is obvious that very dry materials 
were necessary. 

To the unfortunate who is cast away on a desert island, like 
'the hero of fiction, this latter method of fire making is the most 
prom.ising, for he usually has some steel object, even if only a 
pocket knife and a piece of his coat lining picked into shreds 
may answer as tinder. The difiiculty will be in finding the fiint; 
but that is easy in the story. 

But the easiest of all ways to make a fire without matches 
is by means of a magnifying glass or other lens. A reading 
glass, if the sun is bright, will produce a fire almost as quickly 
as it can be made with a match, providing, of course, that it is 
used the right way. In the absence of a reading glass, a watch 
or compass crystal, an eye glass, the lens from a field glass or 
camera, or even a bottle, may be used for concentrating the 
sun's rays onto a pile of tinder and thus producing a fire. If 
you arc sceptical as to the heat caused by a concentrated light 
ray, just hold a reading glass a few inches above your hand and 



42 



WOODCRAFT 




USING THE FLINT AND STEEL TO START A FIRE. 



turn the glass towards the sun so that a tiny point of intense 
light is thrown onto your hand and you will be surprised to 
see how quickly it will burn a blister. A pipe may be lighted 
that way very easily, something that is worth knowing if one 
happens to get caught in the woods without matches and with 
a magnifying glass in his pocket. 

But he may not have a glass of any description and then — well 
here is another way: A man traveling in the woods nearly always 
carries a gun of some kind. Let him remove the bullet from a 
cartridge and substitute a small bunch of dry tinder; shredded 
dry cotton cloth is as good as anything, and loading this cart- 
ridge into the gun, fire it into another small pile of tinder and 
blow the smoldering pile into a flame. 

The safest and most convenient way of all is, of course, to 
carry matches, and to have a portion of them in a waterproof 
box. Matches are cheap and a waterproof box will not bank- 
rupt a woodsman. I always, when in the woods, carry matches 
in a waterproof match box, and I never use them except in 
emergency, carrying my regular supply loose in a small pocket. 

There was one time that I well remember when that box of 
dry matches was to me about the most valuable thing in the 



WOODCRAFT 



43 




STARTING A FIRE WITH A MAGNIFYING GLASS. 



world. That was the time when I broke through the ice of a 
lake in the northern wilderness, far from camp, and my clothes 
froze stifif before I had gone a hundred paces. The dry matches 
enabled me to make a fire quickly and dry my frozen clothes. 
What could I have done without the waterproof match box? 

Fire is as useful to the modern woodsman as it was to the 
prehistoric man and in the far north it stands between him and 
death when King Boreas reigns. But it can also do a world of 
mischief. Is it not strange that the great forces which are so 
terribly destructive when let loose in all their strength are the 
most beneficial and useful to mankind? We could not exist more 
than^a few days without water, yet floods destroy each year 
millions of dollars worth of property and thousands of lives. 
Electricity is, perhaps, the most useful power in the world and 
we have grown so used to it that to give up its comfort, which 
we derive in the form of light, power and heat, would be an 
awful hardship, and yet electricity is the most dangerous and 
deadly element known. 

Fire also is so needful that we could no longer exist with- 
out it. It alone can make our homes comfortable when the 



44 WOODCRAFT 

winter winds howl without. Its heat is necessary for the prepa- 
ration of the greater portion of our food. Yet fire is a danger- 
ous and destructive element, and must be closely watched at all 
times to prevent it from breaking out of bounds. From the 
harmless comforter of the home it becomes the relentless 
destroyer. 

The loss by fire would be reduced greatly if all persons 
would observe a few simple rules and in the hope that some of 
the readers may become just a little more careful in this respect 
I will give these rules here: 

(i) Use only "safety" matches. They will ignite only by 
friction on the preparation found on the side of the box in which 
they are purchased. If one of these matches falls on the floor 
it is harmless since it cannot light accidentally and thus cause a 
fire. If they fall into the hands of children they are also harm- 
less as far as starting a fire is concerned. 

(2) Do not throw a lighted match onto the floor, or among 
rubbish. Burned matches should always be placed somewhere 
where they cannot possibly ignite anything in case a little fire 
still smolders in the burned wood. 

(3) Don't drop cigarettes or cigar ends into places where 
they can do harm, and if there appears to be the least possible 
danger they should be carefully extinguished. A pipe dumped 
into a waste basket has many times started costly fires. 

(4) Be sure that there is no woodwork so near the stove 
that it grows scorching hot when the stove is overheated. Like- 
wise make sure that no rubbish is thrown near the stove or fire- 
place and that there is no danger of fire dropping out onto the 
floor. 

(5) Never leave the house with a fire burning in the stove, 
or fireplace. 

(6) Kerosene and similar substances should never be used 
for kindling fires; their use is exceedingly dangerous. Gaso- 
line especially is very dangerous, not alone through the faci'that 
it is very inflammable but even more so from the fact that the 
fumes of gasoline explode with great violence. It should never 
be used in a house where there is a fire or a lighted lamp, and 
a fire should never be lighted in a room where it has been used 
until the fumes are completely cleared from the room. 

Burning oil can be extinguished by smothering with woolen 
blankets, or by throwing sand on it. Water merely spreads 
the fire. 



WOODCRAFT 45 

While fires in settled communities do the most damage, a 
dry season may see many destructive forest fires. Such con- 
flagrations destroy the forests and kill game and song birds, 
besides being a menace to settlers. This country suffers great 
losses through forest fires, many of which could be prevented 
by an observance of the rules already given, especially those 
relating to smoking. Campers are also responsible for many 
fires of this kind by failing to extinguish camp fires, or by 
building them in places where rubbish abounds. A camp fire 
should never be made except on a spot of clean ground and if 
necessary a spot should be cleared before building the fire, dig- 
ging away the vegetable matter on the surface, if need be. Like- 
wise the camper should be certain that there is no danger from 
the fire spreading before he leaves it. 

Ordinarily he can feel sure of this only when he has com- 
pletely extinguished the fire by pouring water upon it. 

BLANKETS 

One of the first things to learn is that blankets, no matter 
how good, are not "warm," they don't generate heat. Wrap a 
jar of water in the warmest, thickest, softest woolen blanket you 
can find and place it out of doors over night in a zero temper- 
ature and see what you have in the morning. No, there is no 
warmth coming from the blankets, but the warmth comes from 
the human body and the purpose of the blanket is to retain this 
warmth, to prevent its escape. It miUst therefore be a non- 
conductor of heat. And remember that there is no such thing 
as cold, for what we call cold is merely an absence of heat, ^nd 
we call it cold for convenience. 

Suppose you are sleeping, or attempting to sleep out of doors 
on a night so cold that the trees pop like pistols. You are wrapped 
in a pair of woolen blankets and it is only this wrapping that is 
between you and the frosty, chilling air. But inside of those 
blankets your body is giving out heat waves, the air on the inside 
becomes warm, and you arc comfortable. Suppose again that the 
blankets are not the right kind, they will not retain heal, and as 
a consequence you become cold. You sit up, replenish the fire 
and swear to yourself, but you don't know why you can't keep 
warm. You say the cold gets through your blankets and you 
firmly believe this. As a matter of fact it is the heat that gets 
through, not the cold. 



46 WOODCRAFT 

Outside of fur the best heat-retaining material used for 
blankets is pure wool. A little cotton may do no noticeable harm, 
if properly used in conjunction with the wool, but it certainly 
does no good, and it really decreases the warmth of the blanket 
in direct proportion to the quantity used, therefore I say the 
best blankets are made of pure wool. And there is a difference 
in wool, too. Scotch wool is generally admitted to be the finest 
produced. 

It. has always been my belief that wool loosely woven, so 
that it forms a soft, thick cloth, is a better heat retainer than 
the same quantity of wool tightly woven, so that it makes a 
thinner, tighter and harder material. Anyway, I think the sur- 
face should be as woolly as it is possible to make it. 

Now it is not difficult to get together a quantity of blankets 
that wall keep a man warm on the coldest night, but the trouble 
will come when he wants to transport them. I have slept out on 
nights when it would have required a half-dozen or more of 
the heaviest woolen blankets made to keep me near-comfortable, 
but a bed of this kind would have made a pack that would 
discourage a bush Indian. No, you can't carry with you enough 
woolen blankets to keep you comfortably warm when traveling 
the northern trails in midwinter. Now think it over and it will 
become obvious that either a man cannot be comfortable in the 
woods during zero weather unless he has a way of transporting 
his camp duffle other than by back-packing, or he must find a 
lighter, warmer blanket than can be made of wool. The latter 
is the solution. 

Woolen blankets are good, m fact the best thing made, for 
camping in spring, summer and fall. As long as the spirits do 
not go lower than lo or 20 degrees above zero and a fire may be 
kept burning all night a pair of Hudson Bay blankets are hard 
to beat. But when the temperature falls lower the shivering 
spells preceding each "fire-fixing" become too frequent and the 
cat-naps too short. 

The blankets we buy for use on the bed are double, but for 
camp use single blankets are preferable. They should be of 
generous size, for a white man cannot sleep comfortably if he 
must draw his knees up against his chin. What is more, the 
blankets should cover his head as well as his feet, so they should 
be a foot and a half longer than the user's height. They should 
also be wide — six feet will do, but nothing less. With such 
blankets a man can lie on one-half and pull the other half over 



WOODCRAFT 47 

him, and by suddenly elevating his pedal extremities he can drop 
the lower edge of the blankets under them, while the upper part 
can be drawn tightly around his head and shoulders. Thus he 
can sleep in real comfort while the fire burns. 

Never use a cotton blanket in the wootis. Blankets made of 
cotton are cold to the touch, and do not retain the heat of the 
body as well as those made of wool. In addition to this they 
have the bad fault of not being as nearly impervious to sparks 
as woolen blankets. Now a man of the trail does not sleep with 
his feet towards the fire like the pioneer scout of border fiction, 
but he lies by the side of the fire, where he will get the benefit 
of its heat, and sometimes he rolls closer than he should for 
safety. 

This I learned from actual experience about the first time 
I ever tried camping out. I believed firmly that I couldn't afford 
to buy woolen blankets, so I used a pair made of cotton. I was 
sleeping by the side of a fire and as it was quite cold I snuggled 
close. I awoke to find a decidedly warm feeling about my knee, 
and on hasty examination found a large section of one trouser 
leg burned away and a hole in the blanket over a foot in diam- 
eter. I then decided that 1 could afford woolen blankets and 
have stood by that decision ever since. 

One of the best blankets for camping purposes that I ever 
owned was a square horse blanket, from which 1 removed the 
trimmings. Its thick all-wool body and generous size made it 
ideal for camp use. The Hudson's Bay blankets are excellent, 
being heavy and of large size. Then there are many camp 
blankets of less note, most of which are good. Really good, 
heavy, all-wool blankets of a size 72x84 inches will cost from 
$5.00 to $10.00 each for single blankets, and twice that much 
for the double kind, if you can get them. These single blankets 
should weigh from four and a half to five pounds each. Color 
is immaterial — if you fancy the bright scarlet kind buy it, for it 
will give as good service as a gray one. But a white blanket is 
almost sure to contain all good wool, for it is harder to conceal 
shoddy stuff that is not dyed. White is not a good color for 
camping purposes, but it is not a difficult task to dye a white 
blanket. 

A woolen blanket is neither heavy, bulky, nor stiff. It is 
easily folded to fit the pack, and when properly arranged it forms 
a pad which protects the back of the packer from the corners of 
the cooking utensils and the ever-gouging steel traps and other 
hardware. If the packer has no pack cloth he can use the 



48 WOODCRAFT 

blanket for this purpose, although it is none too good for the 
blanket. If it gets wet it is easily dried without danger of 
burning, and if it does not get thoroughly dry it is warmer still 
than a cotton blanket. 

But when zero weather is to be contended with woolen 
blankets must take a back seat for the Indian's kind, woven from 
strips of rabbit fur. Nothing that I have ever found will equal 
or even approach in warmth a rabbit skin blanket. One such 
blanket, weighing eight or ten pounds, is all that a man requires 
for sleeping out of doors in a temperature of 40 below zero. 
Yes, I know that it sounds far-fetched ; but a trial will convince 
the most skeptical. Many a morning I have found my nose almost 
frozen when I awoke, but otherwise I was perfectly comfortable; 
the reason being that my nose was the only part of my anatomy 
not enveloped in the rabbit skin blanket. I couldn't believe that 
it was so cold until I emerged from the folds of the covering to 
kindle a fire. With one of these fur blankets I have slept com- 
fortably off and on during an entire winter north of Lake 
Superior, in a cabin which had the cracks chinked on two sides 
only, the other two sides having openings between the logs 
through which I could put my hand, and I never had a fire at 
night. 

These blankets are made by all northern Indian tribes. They 
are woven from the skins of the snowshoe rabbit, or varying 
hare, cut into strips for the purpose. The animals producing 
these skins are found in almost incredible numbers in most of the 
wilder parts of Canada, as well as in parts of the northern States. 
The blankets can be m.ade only in winter, when the fur is white 
and in good condition. The rabbits are taken in snares, case 
skinned, and the skins are cut into strips while green. This work 
is done by the squaws. The mxCthod is to trim the open end of 
the skin, then starting at this end with a sharp knife the entire 
skin is cut into a single strip about an inch wide by holding it on 
the knee and cutting around and around. Each skin will make a 
strip 10 or 12 feet long. As soon as it is cut the skin rolls up 
like a cord, fur on all sides. These strips of green fur are wound 
into a ball and placed out of doors, where they will freeze and 
remain frozen, each day's accumulation being added to the ball 
until a sufficient number have been secured to make a blanket. I 
cannot say how many skins are required, but believe about 50 
or 60, perhaps more. Of course the number needed would depend 
partly on the size of blanket desired. 



WOODCRAFT 



49 




THIS SKETCH SHOWS HOW THE RABBIT SKIN 
BLANKET IS MADE. 



Now when Mrs. Indian has secured enough skins to form the 
desired blanket she makes a square frame of poles, about the 
size the finished blanket is to be, and fastens around the inside 
a piece of heavy twine. Then sewing the end of a fur strip to 
the cord at one of the upper corners she weaves this strip across 
the end of the frame by looping it around the cord in a succes- 
sion of simple loops, using her finger as a gauge to make the 
mesh a uniform size. When a gauge reaches the end of the 
strip she sews on another and weaves it as before. When she 
has made such a row of little loops all across the top of the 
frame she passes the fur strip around the side cord a few times 
and then starts another row backward, looping the strip into the 
row of loops already formed. Thus she weaves the strips of 
fur back and forth across the frame until the robe is finished. 
These simple loops will not slip after the fur has become dry. 
The entire blanket must be perfectly dry before it is removed 



50 WOODCRAFT 

from the frame, and it must never be allowed to become wet. 
The skins are not tanned, simply dried. 

These blankets are usually wider at one end than at the 
other, so that there will be sufficient width to wrap around the 
shoulders of the user and yet no more material, bulk and weight 
than necessary. I find it most satisfactory to double the blanket 
lengthwise and loop a cord through the edges across the foot 
and a third of the way up the side, thus fastening the edges 
firmly together and making it somewhat like a sleeping bag. So 
made I do not get my feet uncovered at night, and yet it is 
easy to get into and out of it. These blankets, or robes as they 
are sometimes called, are so loosely woven that a man can put 
his fingers through anywhere, yet for their weight they are the 
warmest bedding I know of. 

I believe an ordinary rabbit blanket will weigh about eight 
pounds. It appears bulky, for with fur on both sides it is quite 
thick, but it can be tied up into a fairly small package. I used 
to roll mine into a package measuring about lo inches in diameter 
by 20 inches in length, and this could be placed in the bottom of 
a common packsack. There it formed a soft pad for the back 
and the heavy articles were thrown higher up in the pack, where 
the weight should be, if weight is ever really needed in a pack. 

I fancy I hear somebody asking how this species of bedding 
is to be kept dry in rainy weather. If it is warm enough for 
rain a rabbit robe is not needed — that is the time to use the 
woolen blanket. It never rains during cold weather. In the 
north, where these fur blankets are needed and used, the weather 
turns cold in November, remaining so until March or April, and 
during this time it is considered remarkable if it ever becomes 
warm enough to rain. I have never had one of these blankets 
wet, except that nearly every morning the fur on the outside 
will be more or less wet, presumably from the moisture which 
it throws out to the surface. This is only on the outside fur 
and will soon dry off if the blanket is hung where the warmth 
from the fire can reach it. 

The only fault I find with these fur blankets is that they are 
continually shedding the hair, and rabbit hair is apt to appear in 
the biscuits, and is certain to be sprinkled plentifully over the 
clothing. This is not so objectionable to outdoor men, but it 
prohibits the use of the article in the house. 

Any trapper living in the northern forest should be able to 
make a rabbit skin blanket for his own use. A few days setting 
and tending snares will provide the necessary number of rabbits. 



WOODCRAFT 51 

I 

and the weaving of the blanket may be done on a cold day or in 
the evenings. I have never made one, for I have been able to 
Duy them from the Indians at prices ranging from $6.00 to $10.00 
each, and that is cheaper than I could make one myself. 

The camp bed that is generally unloaded on the unsuspecting 
[tender foot is some form of sleeping bag. There may be good 
sleeping bags and it is possible that I am unduly prejudiced 
against this form of camp bed, for I have given only two styles 
a real tryout, but I can say emphatically that the kinds I used 
were no good. My first sleeping bag was made of heavy canvas, 
inside of which was a separate bag made of a blanket. It was 
very unsatisfactory, for in addition to being exceedingly stiff and 
jmconvenient for handling, getting into and out of it, it was also 
'a very poor protection against the cold. 

The next investment along this line was one of the sheep- 
skin-lined bags advertised so much about 10 or 15 years ago. It 
was made of heavy duck with a lining of sheepskin with the 
wool on. Inside of this was a blanket bag and this was also 
fitted with a removable drill sack, which could be washed. If 
weight and thickness were sure indications of warmth this should 
:have been all right for the polar regions, for the complete outfit 
j must have weighed 25 pounds. I found it very little warmer than 
j the bag with the blanket lining, and I was not long in getting 
rid of it. 

This is the extent of my experience with sleeping bags, but 
it is sufficient to turn me against the entire family. As I said 
before there may be good ones, but I am from Missouri. The 
plain, heavy, all-wool blanket for me as long as the weather is 
lot bitterly cold, for when zero temperature comes I want a 
rabbit fur blanket if I am to do much camping out. These are 
a^ood enough for me until I find something better, and I don't 
2xpect to find it. They have been with me under the most trying 
:onditions and have proved their worth. 

What is needed by the trapper, or by anybody who finds 
occasion to camp out, is something light with little bulk that will 
veep him as warm and comfortable as he can hope to be under 
:he circumstances. This he finds in the articles recommended. 

Other furs than that of the rabbit have been tried out fo/ 
blankets, but I am told that they are not as good. Lynx and 
wolf fur are perhaps the best kinds, as they are long and dense, 
while the skin is relatively light. But they are all heavier than 
rabbit fur, less warm and much more costly. 

A deer skin makes a nice spread for the top of the camp 



52 WOODCRAFT 

bed to sleep on when the weather is cold, for it stops much of 
the cold air that comes up through the bed from beneath and 
helps retain the heat generated by the body of the occupant. The 
skin need not be tanned. 

A man needs a night cap of some kind when sleeping out of 
doors. I have slept quite comfortably when wearing a wool 
toque, and I have also used the loose hood, which is worn by 
most northern bushmen to keep the snow from getting inside of 
the clothing. Some men can get along very well with an ordinary 
hat or cap. 

In the bushman's outfit, as I see it, the blanket is second in 
importance only to the ax. How can good, pure wool be used 
more advantageously than in the form of a blanket, which will 
keep the owner comfortable eight or nine hours out of each 24? 
The worth of a blanket to the man of the woods can hardly be 
over-estimated. And when its days of usefulness as a blanket 
are ended it will still bring him much more comfort by being con- 
verted into mittens, hood, and extra protection for the feet when 
the Frost King reigns. 

THE WOODSMAN'S AX AND 

ITS USE 

On the ax more than on anything else depends the comfort 
and success of the northern forest traveler, whatever his calling. 
He may, to lighten his load, discard all of the articles in his 
outfit which are not absolutely essential, but never by any chance 
is the ax among those cast aside, because this tool is the most 
necessary and the most useful article used by the bushman. Not 
a day passes that the ax is not put to strenuous use, and on the 
trap line nearly every hour of the day finds the ax at work, 
smoothing the rough path of the traveler and providing for his 
comfort and welfare. 

How could the wilderness trapper exist without the aid of 
this most useful tool? On it he must depend for his night's 
supply of firewood, and when the weather is cold this means not 
only comfort, but life itself, for the hardiest trapper could not 
long survive a temperature of forty below without a good warm 
fire beside which to spread his bed. With the ax he cuts poles 
for the frame work of his night's camp ; he uses it to blaze the 
trail that he may follow it again when he goes the rounds to 



WOODCRAFT 53 

glean his harvest from the traps which he has set; he uses it 
when making the sets themselves ; for cutting the drooping, snow- 
laden branches across his trail, and many minor uses which can- 
not now be mentioned. When making a hard trip he may leave 
his gun in camp, and may even travel and camp without blankets, 
shelter or cooking utensils, but the ax must go with him on every 
trip. 

We are told that in early days the Indians paid fabulous 
prices for the most simple and common tools, and it has been 
said that as much as a hundred dollars in furs has been paid 
by an Indian hunter for an ax. It seems like wholesale robbery, 
but the bargain had two sides — two poinis of view. The Indian 
simply exchanged what was practically worthless to him for what 
was of priceless value, and from his point of view he drove as 
shrewd a bargain as did the trader. When we leave civilization 
behind us values change, and utilitarian worth counts more than 
intrinsic value, therefore, the ax becomes more valuable than a 
whole season's catch of furs. 

If any class of people need perfect goods it is the class who 
must depend on these goods for their existence. The woodsman 
should have a perfect gun, perfect traps, perfect camp equipment, 
the best food he can buy, but above all a perfect ax. It should 
be of the finest material and of the best temper, tough but not 
hard. When put to a great strain steei will do one of two 
things — it will bend or it will break. If of good quality, with the 
proper proportion of carbon, it will stand an unusually severe 
test before it will do either, but when it does give it should bend 
rather than break. Of this kind of steel the trapper's ax should 
be made, and it should have a temper which will enhance these 
good qualities. If the ax is tempered a little too hard the edge 
will break when cutting into hard knots or frozen wood, or when 
the frost has not been drawn from the edge before using. When 
once the edge becomes 'dulled it is difficult to sharpen, for the 
trapper of the great woods has no grindstone, and must depend 
on file and whetstone to keep his cutting tools in perfect condi- 
tion. A hard ax cannot be filed, so that puts the taboo on the 
ax vx^ith high temper. 

I have emphasized the necessity for perfection in the trapper's 
ax, and that you may realize the seriousness of this, I will repeat 
what I said at the beginning of this article, that often the camp- 
er's life depends on the ax and its ability to stand the woods- 
man's test. The northern or western trapper frequently finds it 
necessary to make long trips in terribly cold weather, camping out 



54 WOODCRAFT. 

night after night. Since the entire camp outfit and food supply 
must be carried on these journeys the outfit taken must of neces- 
sity be meager. Only a single blanket and a small, light canvas 
shelter can be taken and to sleep without a fire under such con- 
ditions is out of the question. A good hot fire must be kept 
going and such a fire will consume nearly half a cord of wood 
during the long northern night. This must be cut into lengths 
that can be handled and what would become of the camper if his 
ax were to break before the night's wood was cut; he far from 
the home camp, darkness at hand, and the temperature far below 
the zero mark. Freezing to death could be the only possible out- 
come, unless he could retrace his steps in the dark and travel 
all the long night. So you see it will pay you to test your ax 
well before you take it into the woods, and take only one that 
will stand the most severe trial, even if you break a dozen axes 
before you get one that is satisfactory. 

What I have said of the material of the ax head appHes with 
equal force to the ax handle. It should be of sound, strong, 
straight-grained, springy wood, for sometimes a broken ax handle 
is as disastrous as a broken blade. I have never found a better 
wood for ax handles than good second-growth hickory, but young 
white oak, the sapwood, is almost as good. 

Even if the temper and material of the ax and handle leave 
nothing to be desired, if the ax is not of the right pattern, weight 
and length, it will be unsatisfactory. Perhaps the most useful 
pattern for the wilderness trapper is that having a long narrow 
blade, but this should not be carried to the extreme, as a narrow 
blade is more easily broken. The long blade is very useful when 
cutting holes into the sides of trees for setting marten traps or 
in making deadfalls, and for many similar uses about camp where 
the simplicity of the outfit necessitates making of the ax a gen- 
eral utility tool. If made extremely long and narrow, however, 
the consequent weakening and the fact that a narrow blade is not 
so satisfactory for hewing and for chopping in heavy wood more 
than offset the good qualities of the long blade. The eye of the 
ax should be large, so that the handle may be large in the eye of 
the ax and close by the head, and it should be enlarged slightly 
at both edges. This will make it possible to wedge the handle so 
that it will hold the head solidly, and it will leave the handle if 
fitted well, thickest where the greatest strain comes, close to the 
eye of the ax. 

In the shaping of an ax blade there are some rules that must 
be remembered and adhered to if the maximum of efficiency is 



WOODCRAFT 




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56 WOODCRAFT 

desired. These same rules must be known to the user of the 
tool, for in the grinding, a bad cliopping ax may often be made 
better, while bad grinding makes it worse. One of these rules, 
and the most important, is to have the blade or bit thinnest on 
the "inside corner," which is the end of the blade nearest to the 
user. The hasty conclusion would be that if this corner were 
thinnest, the opposite side of the blade should be thickest. This 
is wrong. The thickest part of the blade should be two-thirds 
of the way across from the inside corner, the place marked X in 
the drawing of what I call "the woddsman's perfect ax." A blade 
so shaped will have the maximum chopping power, will sink 
easily into the tree, will burst the chip well, and will not bind in 
the wood. 

I think it best that the ax head be made of wrought iron, 
split, and a welded-in steel bit. This gives the maximum 
strength. The butt of the ax might also be of steel, and would 
be more convenient for the trapper if it had a claw for drawing 
trap staples. If the eye of the ax is not tempered in the least 
the entire head may be miade of steel and will be almost, if not 
fully, as strong, while the making is simplified. 

You may wonder why a trapper need concern himself with 
the making of the ax if he can buy it ready made, but if there 
is a trapper's perfect ax made, I do not know of it. I know, 
however, that many readers of this article have in their locality 
a blacksmith who is fully capable of mxaking such an ax to order. 

For the northern forest and the western mountain district 
the ax that I would recommend would weigh only about two 
pounds, handle not included in the Vv^eight. Some of you may 
think this entirely too light, but the northern Indians use axes 
of only one and a half pounds, and find them heavy enough for 
practical purposes, while light to carry on the trail. To make 
a light ax effective, however, it must have a long handle. An ax 
like this should have a handle of from thirty to thirty-four inches 
over all, and with such a tool you will be surprised to see what 
heavy work can be done. 

As said before, I do not know of a better wood for ax 
handles than hickory. It is very strong and springy and it 
always stays smooth; as cold to the touch as the ax head itself, 
ft is difficult to get ax handle wood when we reach the upper 
part of the northern tier of states or Canada, for hickory is not 
found there. Hard maple is used extensively for ax handles in 
these places; but it does not compare well with hickory. About 



WOODCRAFT 57 

the only way to get a handle of the proper length for the woods- 
man's ax is to remove the handle from a large ax and work it 
over into the proper shape and thickness. The full size single 
bit axes usually have clubs of handles and there is plenty of 
wood on which to work. 

Did you ever wonder why an ax handle is curved in an S 
shape? It is made to fit the hands of the user without strain- 
on the arms or wrists, and this curved shape enables him to hold 
the ax more solidly when striking a blow than could be done 
with a straight handle. The handle should be quite thick and 
"hand-fitting" near the end where it is grasped by the left hand 
(or right, according to whether the user is right or left handed), 
but the other part should be shaped so the hand can slide easily 
back and forth while chopping. 

The handle should be fastened into the ax with a wedge, 
which in turn is held in place by a screw. The wedge has a 
head so that when the screw is removed it is easily pried out, 
and then if it is necessary to remove the handle the ax can be 
driven into the top of a stump or into a log, and the handle 
easily detached. Such wedges may be bought from almost any 
hardware company. 

This is my idea of what a woodsman's ax should be, and 
such a tool weighing tv/o pounds, with a well-shaped handle 
thirty or thirty-two inches long from the end to the ax eye 
makes an efficient tool of light weight and a great article for use 
on the trail or trap line. I might say of it, as Davy Crockett 
said of his knife: "It will jump higher, dive deeper, shave more 
hogs and stand more bending without breaking than any other 
made." 

As nearly all woodsmen are good axmen, it may seem super- 
fluous to give advice regarding the care of an ax, the way to 
grind it, and how to use it, but this article is not intended for 
those who know, but for these who do not, and are desirous to 
learn. By a reckless, careless blow at a hemlock knot I have 
seen the entire bit broken ofif an ax, while other axes of no 
better temper but properly ground and well handled have gone 
tbrough an entire season of "bark peeling" without a nick of 
any consequence. I have seen axes ruined in a half day's work 
cutting brush close to the ground, and have myself used an ax 
day after day at the same kind of work without making a nick 
which could not be whetted out in a few minutes with a small 
ax stone. 

There is also a lot of danger in the careless use of an ax. 



58 WOODCRAFT 

I have known of at least two men who have cut their heads by 
splitting wood under a clothes line. The same thing may happen 
when working under a tree with low, drooping branches. In the 
woods it will pay double to make it a rule on every occasion to 
be sure that there is not even the smallest twig in the way to 
catch the ax before you make a stroke with it. Trim all brush 
away from around a tree before you commence to cut it, and 
observe the same precautions when you cut it into lengths or 
when lopping the branches. When cutting the fallen tree into 
lengths, the common and most convenient way is to stand on the 
log and chop it half way through between the feet, then turn and 
cut the other side in the same way. Use double precaution when 
doing this, for I have known of an ax being deflected and a 
nasty cut being the result. It seems that the smallest branch or 
sprout can turn the ax toward the foot of the chopper. 

When chopping down timber the tree can nearly always be 
thrown either of three ways — the way the tree incHnes or to 
either side, but not the opposite way from its inclination. In 
addition to the incline of the tree, the influence of the wind and 
the weight of the branches must be considered, and when all 
of these forces are brought to bear the timber cutter must be well 
"onto his job" to know just how to cut the tree to make it fall 
in the desired direction. A good chopper, however, can throw 
the tree to any spot designated within the falling zone almost 
every time. The wind is a great factor and must be considered, 
especially when the breeze is strong or when the tree appears to 
stand perfectly straight. A tree on a slope that appears to be 
perpendicular will, in nearly every case, fall down hill if free to 
fall as it wills, providing there is no contrary wind. If the tree 
really stands perfectly upright and there is no wind, it will fall 
best toward the side that has the most branches, or to the side 
having the greatest weight. If allowance must be m^de, how- 
ever, for both wind and gravity, it is then the judgment of the 
chopper is put to the test. If he can estimate accurately the 
power of each of these forces, he can drop his tree exactly where 
he wants to, but how? 

It is very simple. In cutting a tree a notch is cut on the side 
toward which the tree is to fall. Remember that this notch 
should be cut into the center of the tree, and when finished, 
should be exactly at a right angle to the line on which the tree 
is to fall. A notch is then cut on the opposite side, just a little 
higher on the tree, and when this notch is cut in almost to the 



WOODCRAFT 59 

center the tree will fall. If the tree is notched to fall the way- 
it inclines and there is nothing to prevent it going that way, the 
second notch should be cut exactly parallel to the first. If, 
however, the tree leans a little to one side, if there are more 
branches on that side, or if the wind blows in that direction, the 
second cut should not be parallel with the first, but should be 
farther from it on the side from which the wind comes, so that 
there will be more wood to break on that side. In no case should 
the notches entirely meet on the other side, for if they do, should 
the tree be cut entirely off on one side, it will settle farther 
over to that side. Just how near you dare cut it off on the one 
side and how much 3'ou must hold on the opposite side can be 
learned only from experience. 

There are other little things that have a certain amount of 
influence. For instance, if there is nothing to interfere, the tree 
in falling will draw slightly toward the high side of the notch 
first cut. Then, too, if the notch is not perfectly cut, if it is more 
acute on one side than on the other, as the tree falls the top and 
bottom of the notch will meet on one side before they do on 
the other, and this is certain to swing the tree slightly toward 
the wide or obtuse side of the notch. A heavy weight of 
branches, too, on one side may cause the tree to roll slightly in 
falling. 

For your own safety it is always best to get back a safe dis- 
tance from the tree when it starts to fall, because if it falls over 
a rock, a log, or a little rise in the ground the butt of the tree 
will kick and may lift your head off, which would be decidedly 
unpleasant. If there are other trees in the v/ay, look out for 
falling branches. 

I have already told how to cut the tree in sections, but the 
branches must be trimmed off before it can be cut up entirely. 
In trimming, work from the butt toward the top, as the branches 
usually grow that way, cut easier, and are not in the way while 
chopping. Hold the ax rigidly when trimming, as the knots are 
likely to be hard and an ax that is not held firmly may break or 
bend. Make it a rule to do no more trimming than necessary on 
such woods as hemlock and fir, which have very hard knots. 
Frozen wood is also likely to break the ax. 

When splitting wood strike straight and don't try to spring 
the split open by prying with the ax, for that is the easiest way I 
know to break an ax handle. Usually it is easier and better to 
merely start the split with the ax and finish opening it up with 
wooden wedges, using the ax only to drive the wedges and to cut 



6o WOODCRAFT 

the contrary fibres. Just how to split a block easiest can be learned 
only from experience. Sometimes it is best to go right at a 
knot or the toughest place, and sometim_es you must attack the 
clearest place, depending on circumstances. Ordinarily a piece 
of wood splits easiest by starting the end of the block with the 
ax and following up with a pair of wedges, using the ax to cut 
the binding splints. 

Learn to cut close to the ground without striking the stones. 
It requires care, that is all, but one careless stroke may mean a 
badly damaged ax and an hour or more of hard work to make 
it sharp again. Don't strike downward v/hen cutting brush; 
grasp the shrub, if a small one, with the left hand, and cut it 
by a single stroke, as illustrated, using the ax with one hand 
only. If the shrub is a large one, handle the ax with both hands 
and cut close to the ground, making a strong, slashing blow. 

Grinding an ax requires some care, but it is really quite easy 
and it is surprising how many axmen will not attempt to grind 
an ax. I have known many good choppers, working in log camps, 
who could not grind an ax, or at least thought they could not. 

As the ax comes from the store it usually has a decided bevel 
on the edge, and the first grinding means considerable work, for 
this bevel must be ground entirely away. Start well back on the 
blade and grind it slightly rounding down to the edge, until the 
edge is clean and even, then grind the other side in the same 
way. Some axmen maintain that the ax cuts better, or to use 
the woodsman's expression, "draws" better if in finishing the 
grinding the ax is given a wabbling motion. Keep in mind 
what I said about the shape of the blade, and if it is not already 
the proper form, try to improve it each time you put it on the 
grindstone. After grinding, whet the edge thoroughly with a 
fine whetstone until the scratched effect caused by grinding has 
given place to a smooth surface and a clean keen edge. If you 
do not whet it after grinding, the edge will crumble away and 
the ax will cut "dead." 

The first grinding will tell you whether the ax is hard or 
soft. You can tell by the sound of it and by its grip on the grind- 
stone. If it is soft it cuts rapidly, grips the stone hard and gives 
a dull, dead sound. If hard, it gives a ringing sound and the 
stone glides smoothly under it, cutting slowly and wearing the 
steel bright. 

The woodsman cannot take a grindstone into the woods and 
the best substitute is a file. I always choose a flat mill file about 
eight inches long. Always push the file from well back on the 



WOODCRAFT 6i 

bit down to the edge, and never from the edge towards the eye 
of the ax, or you will be almost certain to cut your hands before 
you have finished. After the filing, whet the ax until you have 
a smooth, sharp edge. 

It will be evident that an ax that must be kept sharp with a 
file and whetstone must not be too hard, for a file will not 
cut hard steel. The axes sold by the Hudson's Bay Company to 
the Indian trappers are very soft, so that they may be filed easily, 
and the Indian files only on the edge, so that the ax soon has a 
bevel almost equal to a chisel. The average Indian takes just 
about as much care of an ax as a woman does of a butcher knife. 

As the minister says, "Just one word more," and that is in 
regard to carrying the ax on the trail. I have tried many ways, 
but do not find anything more satisfactory than having a leather 
pouch to slip over the head of the ax and tucking it head dov.'n 
in the pack. When drawing a toboggan it is slipped under the 
binding cords. If I am carrying my outfit and do not have a 
gun, I carry the ax in my hand, which is the most satisfactory 
way on such occasions. The Indian thrusts his ax through his 
sash, handle to the rear and blade down, but I never fancied that 
way of carrying an ax. 

SNOWSHOES— HOW TO 
MAKE THEM 

My first efforts at snowshoe making came about through try- 
ing to repair the broken filling of a pair of Indian made snow- 
shoes. In removing the winding from the toe cord I accidentally 
discovered the place where the filling had been tied at the finish 
of the last round. This filling was badly worn and I reasoned 
that if I could remove it in the reverse order from that in which 
it had been strung I would know how to weave the intricate web 
of a snowshoe. I tried it out, successfully filling the old frames, 
and while it was far from perfect work I had at least learned 
the secret of snowshoe weaving. 

Removing the stringing from a pair of snowshoes, carefully 
noting every turn, twist and loop, is the best way to learn how 
the filling is strung, but not every person who has ambitions 
along this line has a pair of snowshoes so much worn that he 
would care to risk removing the rawhide strands. Clearly writ- 
ten instructions, supplemented with working drawings, are the 
next best. 



62 WOODCRAFT 

When a pair of snowshoes are to be made the first thing is 
to plan the size, shape and general character of the shoes. The 
frames, or bows, are the first step of the actual making. 

Snowshoe frames are made of tough, light wood. Many- 
kinds of wood are used, and while I am not prepared to say 
positivel}^ which kind is best I believe that young, straight 
grained white ash is about as good a wood as can be found. But 
my experience has been mostly with white birch, and my instruc- 
tions for making the frames apply to the use of this wood in 
particular, for it is peculiar in many ways, and cannot be split 
and worked as freely as certain other kinds of wood. 

To find a suitable tree for this purpose is sometimes difficult. 
I once went into the bush a distance of seven miles to get a 
tree which I had found, split it, and carried one half home. I 
surely earned that wood, but I made from it a pair of frames 
which were so light that old bushmen said I would break them 
on my first trip ; however, I used them all winter, then gave 
them to an old German who wore them until the filling was com- 
pletely gone, yet the frames were still good. 

The tree from which the frames are to be made should be 
not more than eight inches in diameter, and one of six inches is 
better. It should have drooping branches, and must have eight 
or ten feet of the trunk straight and clean, free of limbs, and 
absolutely without a particle of twist to the grain. Such trees 
may be found occasionally growing along the edge of a swamp. 

After the tree has been felled and a section of the proper 
length cut off, a groove about one and a half inches deep is care- 
fully cut the entire length along one side, care being used not 
to strike hard, as that would injure the wood. When the groove 
is finished a similar one is cut on the opposite side. The stick 
should be split with wooden wedges, and if it is properly done 
the split will follow the grooves. The best half should then be 
chosen for the proposed snowshoe frames, and this should be 
ripped lengthwise with a saw, or split, as desired. Each of the 
pieces will make a frame or bow. 

One side of the stick is then cut and planed until it is per- 
fectly straight, and its face at a right angle to the bark side, or 
at least it must be so in the middle, which forms the toe of the 
snowshoe, for there should be nothing taken off the bark side, 
not even the bark, until after the wood is bent into shape for the 
snowshoe frame. It is best if the entire stick is worked out from 
the bark side, but the wood may be planed straight at all parts 
except in the middle, where the greatest strain comes. Then the 



WOODCRAFT' 



ez 



",- ' : ; -J 



s > 







64 » WOODCRAFT 

third side of the stick is marked off with a marking gauge and 
either cut or sawed to the mark. The fourth side, the inside of 
the stick, which will be the inside of the finished frame, is then 
cut down to the proper dimensions, but on this side an even 
thickness is not maintained, the toe portion being cut thinnest, 
with the heel — ends of the stick — coming next. For a snowshoe 
of average size, say 44 inches in length and 14 inches wide, the 
stick should measure eight and a half feet in length, one inch in 
width, seven-eighths inch thick at the parts which will become 
the middle of the shoe (B to C in figure one), one-half inch at 
A, and about five-eighths inch at the ends. 

Before anything more can be done with the wood a form for 
bending the frames must be made. A convenient form is shown 
in figure two. For steaming the wood properly it is necessary j 
to have a steaming box, which is merely a long case made of 
narrow boards, open at both ends. The stick is placed in this 
case and the steam from a boiling tea kettle turned in one end 
so that the hot steam travels the entire length. The wood should 
be steamed thus an hour and then it is ready for bending. 

Figure two shows how the wood is bent and secured on the 
form. The toe must be form^ed very carefully, bending only a 
little at first, then releasing, then bending a little more, and so on 
until the wood can be seasily and safely bent to complete shape 
and secured by nailing blocks to the form. The form should be 
made from two- inch planks, so that it v/ill accommodate the two 
frames. The wood is allowed to dry thoroughly on the form 
before filling, and this Vv^ill require at least two weeks. 

After the fram^es are dry they may be taken from the form., 
the tail end of each fastened and the crossbars fitted into place. 
The ends miay be secured with a wood screw until after the 
frames have been strung, but the screw should then be removed 
and the ends tied with rawhide, through gimlet holes, the part 
between being counter sunk so that the thongs will be protected 
from wear. This is shown in figure four. 

The crossbars are pieces of flat, strong wood, about one and 
a fourth inches wide and nearly a half inch thick, with rounded 
edges. These should be placed about 16 or 17 inches apart, 
measuring from center to center, and so placed that when the 
frame is supended on the hands midway between these two sticks 
the tail will outweigh the toe by just a few ounces. These cross- 
bars should be carefully mortised into the frame as shown in the 
small diagram in center of figure three. 



WOODCRAFT 



65 




THE LOOP BY WHICH THE THONGS ARE FASTENED 
TO THE FRAME. 



In both sides of the frame from D to E, also from F to_G, 
gimlet holes are bored through the bows from outside to inside 
at intervals of two inches, or a little more, the holes being in 
pairs obliquely placed, and countersunk between. Three holes 
are also bored through each crossbar, as shown. 

The frames are now ready for filling. Regarding material 
for filling, for ordinary use, there is nothing equal to cowhide, a 
fairly heavy skin. The green hide should be placed under run- 
i ning water for a week or more, until the hair can be pulled out 
easily. The hair should then be pulled, or scraped ofif, but care 
must be used that the grain of the skin is not broken or scraped 
away. The hide should then be thoroughly stretched and dried 
in an airy but shady place. When dry it may be cut into strands. 
A whole hide will fill several pairs of shoes. The portion along 
the back is best and this should be used for filling the middle 
section. The lighter parts from the edges of the skin will answer 
for stringing the heels and toes. All strands should be cut length- 
wise of the skin, and full length. Their width will depend on the 
thickness of the skin, the weight of filling desired in the snow- 
shoe, the general character of the snow in which they will be 
used, and the size of mesh in the web. If- cut while dry, then 
soaked, stretched, and again allowed to dry, as they will be when 
strung into the frames, it will be found that the length of the 



^ 



WOODCRAFT 

9 J 6 




atAtt 

METHOD OF FILLING THE TOE SECTION. 

strands will be increased greatly, while the thickness will be much 
decreased. It is well to cut several trial widths, so that the; 
proper weight of strand may be determined. For a coarse 
webbed shoe the thongs, after being stretched and dried, should 
be about five-sixteenths of an inch wide for the middle portioni 
of the shoe; for the ends an eighth inch is sufficiently heavy. 
These strands of hide should all be soaked and stretched thor-l 
oughly, allowed to dry while stretched, and then soaked again 
just before using, and strung into the frames while wet. 



WOODCRAFT 



67 




FILLING THE MIDDLE OF THE SNOWSHOE. 



The ends are filled fiist and as I always commence with the 
toe I will describe my method of stringing that part first. A 
strand of the water-soaked rawhide is stretched tightly around 
the inside of the toe portion through the little gimlet holes, as 
shown in figure five, starting and finishing at one of the holes in 
the forward crossbar. This thong is called the lanyard, and its 
purpose is to hold the filling which is woven into the toe. 



68 WOODCRAFT 

A small needle of very hard wood, or bone, is used for filling 
the ends. I have shown in the drawing how the filling runs. 
Starting in the lower left-hand corner it goes up to the part 
marked i, passes around the lanyard, twists back around itself 
about an inch and then goes down to 2, there passing around 
the lanyard and again twisting around itself, then around the 
lanyard at 3, a single twist, and then across to 4, where it again 
turns around the lanyard, then twists down around the first 
strand to the starting point, under the lanyard at 5 and up to 6. 
'From there the strand loops and twists the same as in the first 
round, except that at the lower corners it loops back around the 
first round, then twists around itself, then around the lanyard, 
and on the same as before. This looping back of every second 
round is continued until the filling extends across the entire for- 
ward part of the toe, when it is discontinued, and each round is 
made like the first. This looping back throws the filling alter- 
nately from side to side. 

The filling must be stretched in very tightly and must not be 
allowed to slip. When one strand is used up another is joined 
on in the manner shown. Care must be used to see that every 
round crosses the others in the proper way, and all the twists 
must be made alike. The amateur should keep these pictures 
before him for a guide. Occasionally he should look his work 
over carefully, and if an error is discovered the stringing should 
be removed and made right. It will be necessary to straighten 
out the completed portions occasionally, and for this purpose I 
use a round-pointed hardwood stick. The weave will finish at 
the center of the crossbar. 

The filling in the tail end or heel is very simple and is shown 
so plainly in the diagram that I think a description superfluous. 
It starts at the upper right-hand corner and finishes in the mid- 
dle of the crossbar. I again advise that great care be used to 
get the twists and loops right, and to see that the thongs cross 
in the proper way. 

Filling the middle section is also more simple than it appears 
at first glance, for it is practically a repetition of the system used 
in the toe portion. The edges of the wood should be rounded 
slightly to prevent them cutting the thongs. The Northern 
Indians wind this part of the frame with a strip of cloth, to make 
a sort of cushion for the tightly stretched thongs. This cloth 
winding serves its purpose well, but in a country where wet 
snows are common its use is not advised, for the cloth holds the 
dampness and causes the rawhide to rot. 



/ 



WOODCRAFT 



69 




HOW THE HEEL SECTION IS STRUNG. 



70 WOODCRAFT 

While the system of stringing this part may appear quitel 
intricate it is in reality simple, and it is the more elaborate* 
arrangement of the forward portion that makes this section 
appear so complicated. The stout bunch of thongs shown in the 
drawing, known as the toe cord, is strung in first, the rawhide 
strand being tightly stretched and crossing the frame some four 
or five tmies, a loop being thrown around the whole on the inside 
of the frame on both sides in the last round. This should be so 
executed that the last loop will be on the right-hand side. The 
thong then loops around this bunch of cords again about an inch 
from the frame, from there being strung up around the cross- 
bar, then twisting around itself back to the starting point, from 
there passing down diagonally to the center of the rear cross- 
bar, where it loops and twists again, then up to the upper left- 
hand corner, where it twists up the same as on the opposite side. 
From here it will be noted the thong runs down a short distance 
and loops around the left side of the frame. The simple loop 
used for this purpose is clearly shown in a small drawing. From 
this loop the rawhide strand twists back about an inch, then runs 
straight across the shoe to the right, where the loop is repeated. 
This completes the first round of the filling. The second round 
starts in about the same way as the first, goes up to the crossbar 
at the left of the first round, twists back to the toe cord, from 
there to the rear crossbar, then up to the left-hand corner. Here 
the system changes, for the strand is run up and twisted around 
the toe cord and first round of filling before it is looped to the 
frame. After looping it is brought across to the right, where it 
again loops and tv/ists, and then twists around the toe cord and 
first round of filling exactly as on the left, after which it is run 
down to the rear crossbar. In this way the stringing continues, 
every second round twisting forward around the preceding two. 
This binds the filling firmly and, it will be noted, also alternates 
the successive rounds from side to side. When the process of 
filling has progiessed so far that there are four twists around 
'the forward crossbar, on each side, this twisting should be 
stopped and the remainder of the forward portion left open, for 
this is where the foot of the wearer works through when walk- 
ing. This open space should measure about four and a half 
inches in width, and if it does not the filling must be shifted. In 
very coarse meshed shoes three twists on each side will be all 
that can be given. An extra turn around the toe cord should also 
be made on each of these two twists of the filling, for consider- 



WOODCRAFT 71 

able strain is thrown onto this portion. From this point on, 
instead of running forward and twisting around the crossbar, 
the filling simply twists around the toe cord. But here care must 
be used to keep the filling smooth and the toe cord flat, other- 
wise sore feet will result from wearing the shoes. The weave 
finishes in the center of the toe cord and there the end of the 
thong should be securely and neatly fastened. The last touch is 
to wind a strand of rawhide about the twisted thongs on each 
side of the foot opening and around the toe cord, to make these 
parts smooth and protect them from wear. 

In the drawings of the heel and toe sections it will be noted 
that I have shown the -web tied to the crossbars with twine. This 
is not a permanent feature, for when the center of the shoe has 
been filled these strings may be removed. 

After making one pair of snowshoes the workman will un- 
doubtedly see wherein he can improve on the design of the shoe, 
on the style of filling, or in the method of making. There are 
many labor-saving devices and ways of handling the material 
that make the work easier. But these the amateur snowshoe 
maker will learn in time and I believe I have now given all the 
instructions necessary for those who want to make their own 
snowshoes. 

SNOWSHOES— HOW TO 
USE THEM 

Snowshoes of one kind or another are used in all northern 
countries, for they are a necessity to those who live in the snowy 
north, and earn their living by outdoor work. Where or when 
they originated would be hard to say, definitely, but since it is 
•in America that they have been perfected and were used by the 
Indians when this country was first visited by white men, it 
seems reasonable that the snowshoe is an invention of the early 
North American savages, and probably was first used many thou- 
sands of years ago. 

The snowshoe is copied from one of Mother Nature's many 
unpatented inventions. She is the inventor of the snowshoe, for 
she gave this gift to many of the northern animals, for instance 
the marten, the snowshoe rabbit, and even the caribou. The mar- 
ten and the rabbit have large heavily furred feet, especially large 



n WOODCRAFT 

and furry during the winter, and because these feet cover a 
large area of snow in proportion to the animals' weight, they 
support their owners where animals unprovided with a "snow- 
shoe" would sink, and would have great difficulty in traveling. 
The caribou has a highly split foot of large size; its spreads gives 
down under the animal's weight until the dew claws also help 
in supporting it, and thus cover so much surface that this big 
deer can walk on a snow crust that would not carry a man. 

As a further illustration of nature's use of the snowshoe 
principle, compare the foot of a Canada lynx with that of a bob- 
cat or bay lynx. The former animal, meant for an existence in 
the North and the high altitudes where deep snows prevail, has 
a very large, furry paw that supports the animal wonderfully on 
the loose snow, whereas the more southern wildcat, a very closely 
related species, has a foot relatively small and with shorter fur. 
The snowshoe therefore was merely copied from nature by man- 
kind and no doubt it was a study of the natural animal snow- 
shoe that gave the early-day savage the great idea and set him 
to work on a scheme by which he could increase the size of his 
feet in a convenient and practical manner, and thus be able to 
walk on the snow instead of wading through it. 

Whatever may have been the style of the first snowshoes or 
the material used in them, the first white visitors to the Ameri- 
can continent found the Indians using snowshoes with frames of 
wood, strung with rawhide, in fact, exactly the same as are 
being used to-day. While the white men may have sought to 
improve on materials and general form, it is certain that they 
could find nothing better or even as good, for the Indians' snow- 
shoe was adopted and is being used in its original form to-day 
where serious use is required. Snowshoes are often modified in 
form for the use of the white people in and near the settlements, 
but for the rough, wild country the Indians' snowshoes cannot 
be surpassed, unless it be in the selection of materials and in 
workmanship. 

Everybody knows that snow is not always of the same 
nature. The character of the snow depends on weather condi- 
tions. Cold weather causes it to remain loose and fluffy; warm 
days and cold nights settle the snow and form a crust, while dur- 
ing midday it becomes wet and packy; wind following a snow- 
storm makes drifts of more or less solidity. These are all very 
different conditions of snow and a snowshoe that is perfect in 
form for one kind of travel or one kind of snow cannot be per- 



WOODCRAFT 



7Z 





2 



BEAR PAW SNOWSHOES. No. 1. WESTERN; No. 2. EASTERN. 



74 WOODCRAFT 

feet for another, although it may answer for all kinds of use. 
In widely separated districts the prevaihng weather conditions 
may cause one or another condition of snow to predominate the 
season through, and as a consequence the proper snowshoes to 
use in any particular place are the ones adapted to the prevailing 
snow conditions. Likewise the nature of the country with re- 
spect to surface and vegetation greatly influence the styles of 
snowshoes. 

The sporting goods catalogues show snowshoes of very dif- 
ferent forms and proportions, and the extreme conditions, not 
for general use. But the catalogues seldom give any informa- 
tion on this subject that will aid the tyro in selecting snowshoes 
adapted to his use, and if uninformed on the subject he is all 
at sea. 

Long, narrow snowshoes are used for fast travel in open, 
fairly level country. In general, they are not good on rough 
ground, in brushy districts, or where the snow does not fall to 
a good depth. If the toes are turned up somewhat and more or 
less pointed they are better for travel in loose, powdery snow. 
But the upturned toes render the shoes worthless for hill climb- 
ing, as the frames will not take a grip on the snow, while on 
hard trails or crusted snow, such as we sometimes find on the 
frozen lakes, they make the wearer's feet sore through lack of 
spring in the frames. 

The most perfect type of snowshoes for general use is that 
shown in figure five. It has the average dimensions and pro- 
portions, all extremes being avoided. It measures about 44 
inches in length by 14 inches in width at the widest place, and 
this is the proper size for the average person and general condi- 
tions. A heavy man, if of average height, or taller, can use 
larger shoes to advantage, while for a smaller and lighter man 
slightly smaller snowshoes are better adapted. The toe is round 
and flat. It slips easily through the brush, takes a good grip on 
the hard snow of the hillsides and covers enough snow to keep 
it up near the surface while the narrow heel cuts down. The tail 
is short, which adapts the shoe better for turning in brushy 
placed and reduces liability of breakage when crossing logs. The 
stringing, it will be noted, is heavy and coarse, which makes the 
shoe better for damp, sticky snow. A fine mesh filling is all 
right where the snow is always in a loose, dry condition, but 
when the snow becomes packy it closes up on the web and makes 
continuous trouble. The ends are filled with a finer material, 
for here the stringing is subject to less strain. 



WOODCRAFT 



75 




I(i WOODCRAFT 

The Indians of Canada frequently fill the heel and toe of 
their snowshoes with fine twine instead of rawhide. This 
material wears much better than would be expected, providing 
the snow is deep and the snags well covered, as they are up there 
in winter. But a twine filling is not nearly as good as rawhide 
and is used only because it is a more convenient material. 

Many kinds of raw skins are used for filling snowshoes, but 
there is nothing better than cowhide. Horsehide is said to wear 
very well. Calfskin is a good material for stringing light shoes, 
for use on broken trails or for women and children. Moose and 
caribou skin are much used in the North, but are not as durable 
as cowhide. Except that the hair is removed from the hide it 
undergoes no other preparation for snowshoe filling, no oiling nor 
tanning being permissible. 

In the frames also various kinds of wood are used, this de- 
pending partly on the woods obtainable where the snowshoes are 
made. A tough, Hght wood is required. White men usually 
make use of white ash, a very good material for the purpose. 
Black ash is also used, but is a poor wood for snowshoe frames. 
The Canadian Indians use white and yellow birch, both very 
good if good judgment is used in selecting the trees. In the far 
Northwest snowshoe frames are sometimes made of spruce, while 
in the West service wood is frequently employed. There are 
many other woods that will answer very well. 

In the illustration are shown two patterns of long, narrow 
snowshoes. One has a pointed, upturned toe, the frame being 
made in two pieces, fastened together with rawhide at heel and 
toe. This style of shoe I think originated in Northwestern 
Canada, anyway it is used there by Indians and whites alike. 
Snowshoes of this pattern are usually made five feet long and 
12 inches wide. The toe curves up seven or eight inches and 
the length from the toe cords on which the wearer's foot rests 
to the point of the upturned toe must exceed the length from the 
ball of his foot to his knee; if it is not so, the toe of the snow- 
shoe will strike his knee when he lifts his foot. 

The other long pattern is a style used in Alaska and Yukon. 
It is so shaped that it gives the maximum of surface covering 
qualities for a shoe of that length and a practical width. The 
stringing is very open and is put into the frame by a peculiar 
system, quite unlike that used in other snowshoes. This is an 
excellent snowshoe for fast travel in deep, loose snow. 

Very short snowshoes made without tails are known as the 



WOODCRAFT 



77 



6N 




Or 




78 WOODCRAFT 

"bearpaw" pattern. I have shown two of these. The one made 
without crossbars is used by the Indians of Washington. It is a 
very simple, easily made snowshoe, and is especially useful in the 
rough, brushy ground. It works nicely in the mountains of 
Pennsylvania and is probably as good for use in that place as 
in the Northwest. The other bearpaw shoe illustrated is a style 
that originated in the Adirondack Mountains. It was designed 
for the use of the spruce gum hunters, its short length making 
it a perfect snowshoe for use in gumming, walking around trees, 
turning and zigzagging here and there. This pattern is one of 
the best for very brushy ground, where rocks and fallen trees 
abound, and it is the best shape for use in the North when the 
first snows come and the small underbrush, snags, rocks and logs 
are not yet deeply buried. A pair of snowshoes like this may be 
carried in a packsack if the trapper is making a journey over his 
line when the first deep snow is due, and he will not then be 
caught without snowshoes when a day's journey or two from 
camp. This has happened to me, so I can now see the importance 
of carrying a pair of snowshoes at that time. 

Snowshoes of all types have an opening in the forward part 
of the central section through which the wearer's toes move as 
he walks. At the rear edge of this opening are the toe cords, a 
bunch of five or six strands of rawhide, and when in use this part 
is beneath the ball of the foot. A toe;,-strap passes over the foot 
at this point. There is always some other form of fastening 
used, but this may be anything from the Indian's hitch of soft 
caribou skin or lamp wicking to the harness leather fastening of 
the .white man, which buckles across the instep and above the 
heel. In all cases the fastening must pass around the foot above 
the heel, for it is this strap that supports the weight of the snow- 
shoe as the foot is lifted; it. is moved forward by the toe strap, 
and this piece also holds the foot in place on the shoe. 

The Indian's method of tying a snowshoe to the foot has 
some advantages over the white man's harness fastening, but in 
other ways it is imperfect. The principal advantage is that the 
fastening need not be opened for removing the snowshoes or 
attaching it. I have used snowshoes a week at a time without 
opening the knot. A simple twist of the foot with bended knee 
will serve to free the snowshoe from the foot and it is just as 
easily replaced. But it does not hold the shoe as rigidly with 
respect to side motion as the strap and buckle adopted by white 
men generally, and I think it is more likely to cause soreness of 



WOODCRAFT 79 

the feet. The harness shown is one of the best styles and is 
easily made and adjusted. 

For snowshoeing in Northern districts, where the weather 
is cold all through the winter and the snow remains in a loose, 
dry condition, buckskin moccasins are the best footwear. By 
this I mean moccasins of any kind of deerskin, tanned by the 
Indian method. Such moccasins are not waterproof, but that 
makes little difference, for the dry snow never makes wet feet. 
Buckskin is soft and light and if the moccasins are large, plenty 
of warm, woolen socks may be worn. For spring wear, when the 
snow is more or less damp, or for use anywhere when the snow 
is in this condition, oil tanned moccasins or rubber overshoes 
may be worn. Rubber is somewhat hard on the filling of the 
snowshoes, but if this is heavy and of good material it will stand 
a lot of wear. Ordinary rubber shoes should not be worn, how- 
ever, without first removing the heels. 

When walking the entire snowshoe is never lifted clear of 
the snow ; the tail always drags. It is easy to learn to use them. 
I walked 12 miles the first day I tried snowshoeing. My greatest 
trouble was in keeping one shoe clear of the other, but this is 
soon learned. There may also be trouble in learning to turn, 
especially in brushy places, and in attempting to cross logs. 
When crossing a log the foot itself must be placed on the log 
and the next step must be of sufficient length for the snowshoe 
to clear it, or the foot must be turned sideways. 

To get satisfactory service from a pair of snowshoes neces- 
sitates proper care. The wearer should always avoid walking 
over snags, or little hummocks, which are certain indications 
of objects barely covered and which may injure the web of the 
shoes. Do not step on a place which will support one or both 
ends of the shoe solidly unless the middle portion is also thus 
supported, for if the frames do not break the strain they will be 
weakened and will sooner or later take on a curved shape. Never 
step down from a high place with all of your weight on the 
snowshoes, for the strain on filling and frame is great. 

Snowshoes require care, not only while in use, but at other 
times as well. Being strung with rawhide, this material is very 
susceptible to heat and moisture. If the shoes are not dried 
thoroughly after becoming damp or wet the stringing will rot, 
while if dried too rapidly the filling becomes brittle and breaks 
when put to a strain. In camp snowshoes should be suspended 
from the ceiling by a wire, for mice will eat the filling if they 



8o WOODCRAFT 

can reach them. Shoes should be watched closely also for worn 
strands and when a string looks dangerously weak the shoe 
should be repaired at once. 

It cannot be expected that after the most exhaustive book 
study the novice will know enough about snowshoes to discrimi- 
nate between the ordinary bad and those without fault. But 
there are points that if kept in mind will aid greatly in selecting 
snowshoes that will not only be desirable, but also satisfactory 
in regard to size, proportions and pattern. The extreme styles, 
as already pointed out, are not for the use of the beginner, for 
his snowshoeing is generally of the regulation kind. The snow- 
shoes which he should buy, and which he will find in stock with 
most dealers, are more or less on the lines of the pattern shown 
in figure 5. The standard size, or about 14x44 inches, will 
answer well in nearly all cases. If the country is not too rough 
and hilly they may have the toes turned up an inch or two, but 
otherwise they should be flat, as shown. It matters little whether 
the toe be round, square or quite pointed, but it should be rather 
large in area while the heel end should be narrow. The long 
tail usually found on stock snowshoes is a nuisance and may -as a 
rule be cut ofif to advantage, for usually the balance of the snow- 
shoe is improved by so doing. 

A snowshoe should almost balance when suspended midway 
between the two cross-bars, the tail end being just a little the 
heavier. Very fevv' stock snowshoes are so made, most of them 
being too heavy in the rear. 

When buying snowshoes examine the frames with care, for 
if they are not made of good, straight grained wood they are 
apt to break. The wood should be heaviest at the sides and 
thinnest at the toe. There must be no knots, cuts or other de- 
fects. Sometimes in bending the frames the makers split slivers 
loose and afterwards glue them down, so look carefully for such 
places. 

The filling should be clear and yellow. It should be of 
almost equal thickness and there should be no splices close to the 
frame or in the centre. See that the thongs are thoroughly 
stretched, for poorly stretched filling is sure to stretch and sag 
the first time the shoes are used on damp snow. If the thongs 
do not run perfectly straight across the shoe, reject it, for this 
is a sure sign of poorly stretched filling. 

What are sold as first-class snowshoes bring prices ranging 
roughly from five to ten dollars per pair. Good snowshoes can- 



WOODCRAFT 8i 

not be made and sold at less than five dollars, and if they are 
large or have much work about them they cannot be made for 
this price. I do not find any material difference between snow- 
shoes of Indian make and those made by white men. The very 
best snowshoes I have ever found being made for sale are those 
made by a friend of mine living in the Adirondacks. He uses the 
best of material throughout and the stringing alone used in a 
pair of his best shoes will cost him as much as the price at which 
oridinary snowshoes are sold. The best possible snowshoes are 
not available to many readers of this article unless they have 
learned to make them, in which case they can use as much care 
and as good m.aterial as desired. 

WINTER TRAVEL IN THE 
WOODS 

What a change comes over the great forestsof the North 
when winter reigns and holds all nature in his icy grip. The 
fleecy mantle of white covers hill and vale, stream and bush 
alike, bending to the ground the lower branches of the spruces 
and hemlocks, smoothing over the rough trails of the fall, and 
burying the logs, stumps and underbrush from view until the fol- 
lowing spring. The woods through which we traveled with ease 
and comfort when the ground was bare now has a forbidding 
appearance and it requires all the nerve we can muster to attempt 
to penetrate the dense, snow-laden growth, where we know that 
the first step will release a small avalanche of snow upon us. The 
bended branches and smaller growths of the thickets give a dif- 
ferent appearance to the woods and distances seem shorter so 
that we find it difficult to keep to the old course, and wise is the 
trapper or other woods traveler who has blazed out his main 
trails before the coming of the snow. In this winter woods it 
would seem that only the wild creatures inhabiting it would be at 
i home and perfectly fam.iliar with the changed surroundings. 
I But the seasoned woodsman does not hesitate to travel the 

' winter trail. If he is a trapper or spruce gummer the winter is 
I his harvest time. He feels little of the storms which in rnore 
exposed country would keep one close indoors much of the time. 
I On a still morning the cold may be intense and on all sides will 
be heard pistol-like reports from the freezing trees, but if he 
cannot keep warm by rapid walking, he treads down a spot of 
snow, pulls some loose bark from a white birch tree, places over 



82 WOODCRAFT 

it dead branches broken from the trunk of a nearby evergreen 
and applies a Hghted match to the oily birch bark. In a few 
seconds he has a roaring fire by the side of which he can rest 
and restore the chilled blood to its normal state. The Northern 
frost gives no warning; it creeps cautiously through the clothing 
and at once commences to freeze the flesh beneath and at such 
times a fire cannot be lighted too quickly. 

One cannot travel the snowy bush in comfort and safety 
unless he wisely prepares for such travel, by wearing the proper 
clothing and carrying with him the most suitable equipment. 
Clothing must be of the correct weight; just heavy enough to 
keep the wearer warm while traveling but no heavier, as bulky 
clothing is tiresome to one who walks the trails. A long coat is 
bad for travel ; it clings to the legs and interferes with stepping 
over logs. The outer clothing should be of a kind to which the 
snow will not cling, yet it must be soft. Wind proof cloth is not 
needed, in fact a medium thick but loosely woven cloth is 
warmer in the woods than smooth, closely woven fabrics. The 
vest or waist coat is seldom worn in the forest, at least not by 
woodsmen. Woolen clothing, always, is the choice. 

What I know on this subject I have learned from actual 
experience, and we are told that experience is the best teacher, 
but we could often save ourselves much discomfort if we would 
profit by the advice of others. However, knowledge acquired at 
the expense of time, health, comfort and money is often less 
costly than ignorance. The clothing and outfits I recommend are 
""those I have found best for my own use, but an article is most 
useful when properly used. 

I consider the following the best dress for winter wear in 
the timbered country of the North and so dressed a healthy man 
may travel the wintry woods in comfort. Starting with under- 
wear, I advise wearing pure woolen goods, always, of medium 
weight, and all in one piece. The soft, fine kind should be chosen. 
THE WINTER TRAIL. 

Wool absorbs the perspiration and is reasonably warm when 
damp or even wet. It never gets cold and uncomfortable like cot- 
ton underwear does, the nap does not flatten down, and it keeps 
the skin warm and induces a healthy circulation of the blood near 
the surface. 

Wear woolen socks for the same reasons ; two or three pairs, 
as required, and a pair of heavy knit wool stockings, knee length, 
over them. This is too much for warm weather, but I am talk- 
ing of clothing for wear when it is cold. The amount of stock- I 



WOODCRAFT 



83 




THE WINTER TRAIL. 

ings required will depend somewhat on the constitution of the 
man who wears them ; for one traveler can keep the feet warm 
with what would not be sufficient for another. Do not at any- 
time wear more socks than necessary, and wash them frequently, 
as it freshens the wool and makes them warmer. A number of 
pairs of medium weight socks are better than one pair of very- 
heavy ones. They are easier washed, easier dried and more 
comfortable. Many bushmen wind a strip of woolen blanket 
about the foot, and this has the advantage of being cheaper than 



84 WOODCRAFT 

extra socks. I wear both the socks and the long stockings on the 
outside of the trousers, and the stockings should be held by a 
strap at the top. Stretch out the toes of the socks and stockings 
a little before putting the shoes or moccasins on over them and 
it will keep them from binding the toes. 

The only footwear for winter travel when the weather is 
cold, especially for snowshoeing, is the buckskin moccasin. By 
"buckskin" I mean Indian tanned moosehide, deer or caribou 
skin, or the white man's asbestol cordovan horsehide, the latter 
being the best wearing material, but not as soft and comfortable 
as the others. Caribou skin moccasins are my preference for 
snowshoeing, and I like the O jib way pattern with pointed toe 
and cloth top ; they are not as likely to cause sore toes as the 
Sioux pattern (the regular factory made style) and the cloth 
top is warm and holds the snowshoe strings better than the buck- 
skin top does. 

Buckskin moccasins are not waterproof, in fact water will 
go through them almost as readily as through cloth, but water- 
proof qualities are not required in footwear for winter use in the 
North, as the snow never becomes damp until spring, and all 
water, except the smooth rapids, is well covered with ice. The 
only time when the traveler is likely to get wet feet is when 
snowshoeing over the ice on the lakes ; then after a wind storm 
there is sure to be water under the snow on the ice. 

A medium weight gray woolen shirt suits me best for woods 
wear. Trousers may be of almost any kind of strong, soft 
woolen material, and should be roomy, but fit well at the waist. 
I prefer to wear a belt rather than suspenders, but this is imma- 
terial. If the snow clings to the trousers behind the knees, when 
snowshoeing, wear light overalls over them. I have never found 
anything better in coats than those made of mackinaw cloth, such 
as lumbermen wear. I like the plain colors best, blue black being 
my choice. All outside pockets should be covered with flaps to 
keep the snow out. Mackinaw is a soft, warm material and it 
will turn considerable rain. It has only one objectionable feature 
—the snow will cling to it, especially across one's back just above 
the pack sack, which the woodsman nearly alv/ays has with him; 
the warmth coming through the cloth causes it to collect the 
snow. 

My choice of head dress is a good grade, long wool toque 
which can be drawn down over the forehead and ears. Over this 
I sometimes wear a sort of hood made of thin woolen cloth, | 
which hangs down well over the collar of the coat and ties under 



' WOODCRAFT 85 

the chin. This hood is very desirable, as it is a great protection 
from cold and snow. When walking through a snow-laden ever- 
green bush there is a constant shower of snow being released 
from the boughs and this hood keeps the falling snow from get- 
ting inside of the clothing, which it surely would do without this 
protection. It is also a shield against the cold wind when cross- 
ing frozen lakes, where the toque alone would not give sufficient 
protection. I steer clear of fur caps. They are too warm for 
walking, and I think it best to have no covering over the face, as 
any such arrangement will gather moisture from the breath and 
cause freezing. Unless one is exposed to a severe wind, holding 
the mittened hands again§t the face occasionally will prevent 
freezing in the coldest weather, providing we do not have to face 
the breeze. 

The hands also need special protection from the cold and 
much could be written on this subject. I know of nothing better 
than mittens, not gloves, made of heavy woolen cloth, with a pair 
of cotton ones drawn over them. They are easier dried than a 
single pair of heavy ones; are easily made from old material, 

, costing nothing, and are warm. They should be loose enough 
to pull off quickly, and the tops should come well up over the 
wrists inside the coat sleeves. Do not buy gauntlet gloves for 

' the woods; they collect dirt and snow continually. No kind of 

I leather gloves or mittens that I have ever worn will keep my 

I hands warm unless they are very heavily lined and then they 

I are stiff, so I prefer the cloth ones. 

i So much for cold weather clothing, but what shall we wear 

when the sun commences to travel his northern trail and the grip 
of Jack Frost weakens; when the snow melts during midday and 
our clothing seems uncomfortably warm. At such times we can 
discard the heavy shirt and substitute a lighter one; leave the 
overalls in camp and put the hood in the pack or the coat pocket, 
and wear fewer socks, with oil-tanned shoe pacs instead of buck- 
skin moccasins. They are not as good for snowshoeing, but are 
waterproof if kept well oiled. Rubber shoes^wear the filling of 
the snowshoe badly. 

While I have been speaking of clothing for wear in the tim- 

I bered districts of the Far North I realize that there are more of 
those who read this living in a less frosty climate, but for all of 
the Northern States this clothing is quite suitable and proper, 
with the exception of the hood and moccasins. The former is 
seldom needed in more open hardwood forest, and as snowshoes 
are not used much the shoe pac and rubber shoe are the footwear 



86 



WOODCRAFT 




THE INDIAN SNOWSHOE HITCH. 



most often seen. For walking on bare ground or in shallow- 
snow, both shoes have advantages and faults. The rubbers are 
heavier than the pacs and more protection to tender feet, but are 
more likely to tire the wearer, especially since rubber clings so 
fondly to all brush and weeds with which it comes in contact. 



WOODCRAFT 87 

But the pacs, while lighter and softer, will make tender feet sore 
on the bottoms, and they slip in snow more than do rubbers. My 
favorite rubber shoes for outdoor wear are those of ankle height, 
fastening with a lace or with strap and buckle._ 

Snowshoes can hardly be considered wearing apparel. An 
Italian who came over to Canada, when cold weather came, began 
to inquire about clothing for wear in that climate. When he 
asked what kind of footwear was best his informant told him 
that he thought snowshoes were the best when the snow came. 
Having no idea what snowshoes were he went to a store and 
asked to be shown some, and he was considerably surprised 
when he saw what they were. Snowshoes, however, are a part 
of the Northern woodsman's equipment, and a very necessary 
part. They are offered in a number of patterns by sporting 
goods dealers, and there are other styles made and used that are 
seldom or never seen in stores. Some are good; others are 
better, but each kind is good in some section of the country. Tt 
is not my object to go into detail in describing snowshoes, but I 
feel that I must say something about the patterns best adapted 
for use in the woods. They should be of about the standard 
shape, either round or square toe, as desired; for the average 
man, about 14 by 48 inches in size; frames of good straight 
grained wood, with the crossbars mortised in without weakening 
the bows. The tail should be fastened with rawhide, counter- 
sunk, and not a screw or rivet; and the filling throughout should 
be of good rawhide thoroughly stretched, rather fine and close in 
the ends and coarse and open in the centers. The toe should be 
large and quite broad, the tail narrow, and they should balance 
at a point just a few inches behind the center of the space be- 
tween the crossbars. With such shoes you can travel fast on 
loose snow or hard; they turn easily; the broad flat toe takes a 
good grip and makes hill climbing easy, and it also stays nearly 
on the surface of the snow while the narrow tail cuts down and 
as a consequence they lift easily for the next step. If the filling 
is too close in the center the snow will pack under the foot; if 
the toes are too small they cut down and loose snow falls on top, 
making them heavy to lift; if the tail is too heavy it is difiicult 
to turn with them ^ if the toe is upturned they slip on a crust or 
hard trail, make the feet sd!-e, and are not .good for climbing 
hills. Unless you know just what you are doing it is a good rule 
to avoid extreme styles. 

If you are a "Down East" man you will undoubtedly select 



88 WOODCRAFT 

some kind of snowshoe boot, harness, fastening or whatever you 
choose to call it. Most of these give satisfaction, but I have 
used the Indians' method mostly, the same being a tie or hitch 
with a piece of hve-eighth-inch lamp v/ick, about four feet long. 
The toe strap is separate and is fastened by weaving the ends in 
and out of the filling at the sides of the toe opening. The way. 
of tying to the foot is shown in the illustration m.ore plainly than 
I can describe it. Both strings are tied together above the heel, 
and when properly adjusted it is not necessary to untie for put- 
ting the shoe on or removing it from the foot ; a simple twist 
will do it. I have used snowshoes for a v/eek or more without 
undoing the fastening, and it is very nice in extreme cold weather 
to be able to put on or remove shoes without baring the hands. 

If you are simply traveling through the woods aimlessly, with 
no intention of miaking future use of the trail, it makes little dif- 
ference how you go, but if you are a trapper and are breaking 
out a trap line you will, of course, aim to strike the good places 
for sets without walking farther than necessary, and you should 
make your trail with a view of using it afterwards, avoiding steep 
ascents and dense thickets. If possible, get over your trail the 
second time before the packed snow hardens and the trail will be 
smoother. Blaze your trail on trees and brush as you go along. 
I think it best to mark the brush by cutting them half off and 
bending them away from the trail. If you must mark trees, mark 
two sides and then you can follow the marks either way, and 
you can also indicate the turns in the path. My objection to 
marks on trees are that they cannot be seen as plainly as cut 
brush, especially after a driving snowstorm, when the snow 
clings to the trunks of trees, and that the drooping, snow-laden 
branches often hide the spots just when you need to see them 
most. A foot of fresh fallen snow may completely obliterate 
your trail, but if it is well marked you can follow it still, and 
the beaten bottom makes easier traveling, no difference how much 
snow has fallen over it. 

Breaking out fresh trails is hard work, and slow. You can 
break trail away from camp six hours, and return over the 
broken trail in two. In a snowy climate it is advisable, whenever 
possible, to travel each permanent trail at least once in ten days 
to keep it in good condition; but*the trapper will want to get 
over the ground oftener than that anyway. 

As snowshoes are costly and their life depends much on the 
care they receive I will give some rules covering this point that 



WOODCRAFT 89 

is always well to observe. In breaking out a fresh trail avoid 
snags which show through the snow or little protuberances 
which indicate snags beneath the surface; also beware of places 
where the snow appears to be held up by brush or sticks 
beneath. I once broke a new snowshoe frame by stepping into 
a concealed hole; the whole trail dropped down and my snow- 
shoe caught on a snag of a nearby stump, breaking a section out 
of the frame. It is the stringing, however, that is usually cut 
out by the snags. Be careful also when crossing logs to see 
that the shoes are not supported solidly at the ends while the 
middle is free to go down; such treatment will either break the 
frames or bend and strain them, and if they assume a curved 
i shape they are unsightly and tiring to the feet, also hard to use 
in hill climbing. I always like to get started on the trail as 
early in the morning as possible, so that I can travel a few miles 
before daylight, and I camp early in the evening so I can get 
wood and make a comfortable camp before dark. In the early 
spring, when the snow melts during the day and clings to the 
snowshoes the only time one can travel is in the morning until 
about ten o'clock, and late in the evening. At night, if the 
moon shines, one can make good time, but through the day is 
the best time for resting at this season. When the snow sticks, 
the snowshoes get wet and heavy and damp snow packs on top 
I and clings to them, and when these troubles come it is best to 
I cut wood, build a good fire and camp by it until evening. Stand 
\ the snowshoes up in the snow where the sunshine and the warm 
I wind will dry them, make some tea and eat your lunch, then roll 
j into your blanket and rest until the sun gets low, when you can 
I resume your journey. 

j It is difficult traveling, at the best, and the strength of the 

traveler is heavily taxed. Always he has the heavy pack and 

the snowshoe trail seems endless. The home camp is ever a 

welcome sight. It means greater comfort and usually a day of 

j rest to wash and mend the clothing, and admire the drying furs, 

I the harvest of the traps. There are days of awful cold, and the 

' deep, loose snow seems almost too much to endure; yet with all 

I the hardships and privations there is an inexplainable fascination 

I connected with the free, wild life in the woods and in tramping 

; the winter trail. 



go WOODCRAFT 

TRAVELING IN THE PATH 
LESS WOODS 

PART I. 

Everybody admires the man who can travel in the w^oods 
without getting lost. Such a man always commands respect 
among his less accomplished associates. The sportsman never 
ceases to wonder at the ability of his guide to find his way 
unfailingly through the dense bush, and the white guide also 
admires and wonders at the Indian's accomplishments in the same 
line. To the uninitiated the feats of the woodsman seem like a 
sixth sense— instinct, they call it. But it is not instinct, but 
simply the application of knowledge which comes to those who 
are forced by circumstances to be observing in such matters. The 
man who can take an outfit on his back and travel a month in 
the wilderness, living without a particle of aid from his fellow 
men, is a woodsman, and he possesses a knowledge of woodcraft 
which would make a better world if it could be imparted to all 
mankind. 

I was born and grew to manhood in one of the wildest and 
roughest districts of Pennsylvania. Northeast from my home 
I could travel 30 miles without seeing a human habitation, and 
northward the wild, uninhabited mountains reached a like dis- 
tance, broken at one place only by a narrow valley in which there 
were a few small farms. Little by little I learned to know these 
mountains and the narrow valleys between. There was not a 
stream within 10 or 15 miles where I had not fished for trout and 
trapped for mink and 'coons, and I had hunted every swamp and 
red brush flat for deer, bears and grouse. I knew every place 
where blueberries grew in sufficient numbers to make the gath- 
ering profitable, and often I wandered long distances merely for 
the pleasure of mountain travel. I soon got the reputation of 
being an accomplished woodsman, an honor which I did not 
deserve, for I knew nothing whatever about travel in real wilder- 
ness. The long mountains paralleling one another made it easy 
to get about without losing the sense of direction, and I kept 
my compass points merely by familiarity with the ground on 
which I traveled. 

When at the age of 2^ I went into the wilderness of Canada, 
I was up against an entirely different proposition. Before me 
were hundreds of miles of unbroken bush, spotted with lakes that 
at first looked all alike to me, and cut by small streams which 



WOODCRAFT 



91 




A COMPASS OF A PRACTICAL TYPE. 



flowed about from lake to lake in the most haphazard fashion 
imaginable. I had never traveled with the sun as a guide and 
knew nothing regarding the use of a compass, both of which 
are essential for wilderness travel. 

My first move was to file on a piece of government land. 
The land guide helped to locate me and while we were looking 
about I saw him look at his compass, then he remarked that it 
was just noon and we would make some tea. I was surprised to 
see him get the time of day from a compass and asked him how 
he knew it was noon. "Because the sun is directly south," he 
answered, "and it is in that position only at noon." And then 
he explained to me how a compass could be used as a watch, with 
fair accuracy, and how a watch could be made to answer very 
well as a compass. 



92 WOODCRAFT 

The woodsman told me that I could not travel in that country 
without a compass, and I soon found that such was the case. I 
borrowed a compass from a friend, a small, slip-cover instrument 
with a stop to hold the needle stationary when not in use. But I 
found that the slip-cover was inconvenient; dust got in at the 
stop opening and hampered the movement of the needle; and fin- 
ally the compass slipped through a hole in my pocket and was 
lost. By these experiences I learned that the most practical form 
of compass for a woodsman was an open-face, watch-shaped 
instrument, without a stop, and with a ring by which it could be 
fastened to the coat or vest like a watch. Such an instrument 
does not have the long life of the finer stop compass, but it costs 
only a dollar or thereabouts, and after a year or two of use can 
be thrown away and a new one purchased. Of course, if a stop 
compass can be found that has no outside opening to admit dust 
it is better still. 

An Indian seldom carries a compass, but he travels mainly 
by the "lay of the land." He learns the country just as I learned 
the mountains of Pennsylvania, and as a rule he has little idea 
of direction. Sometimes he travels by sun, in fact the sun 
answers for both watch and compass. But when the sun is in- 
visible and the ground unfamiliar he sometimes meets with 
trouble and "loses his wigwam." But he is much less apt to get 
lost than a white man, under similar conditions, for when he 
loses his bearings he doesn't lose his head, in fact he doesn't 
consider it a serious matter at all. He sim.ply makes camp and 
the next day he travels on until he rights himself again. The 
Indian also, when forced to it, uses means of getting his bear- 
ings which only Indians and veteran woodsmen know how to use. 

For my own part I travel mostly by the sun when on strange 
ground, verifying my directions occasionally by reference to the 
compass. I also study landmarks and make use of them con- 
stantly, for to travel by compass alone is slow and difficult. 

Comparatively few people who have never used a compass 
know how the instrument works ; indeed, I once knew a man who 
thought that the needle pointed towards home when the owner 
lost his bearings. But it doesn't do any such thing unless by 
chance the home lies north. 

On the peninsula of Boothia Felix, which juts into the Arctic 
Sea northwest of Hudson's Bay, is the magnetic north pole, and 
the needle of the compass, when free to revolve, points to this 
particular part of the earth. It does not point directly towards 
the magnetic pole in all parts of the world, for the magnetic cur 



WOODCRAFT 93 

rents which converge there do not flow in straight lines. In fact, 
there is an area in Asia, where the compass needle is deflected 
and points to a smaller local magnetic pole. But for bush travel 
all that is necessary is to consider that the blue end of the com- 
pass needle points north, and to call this point north always, the 
opposite direction, of course, being south. 

Perhaps I should not say that the needle always^ points 
north, for it may lose its magnetism with age or the pivot on 
which it swings may become dulled, or again the needle may be 
deflected by a metal object being brought too near. If the needle 
behaves queerly, maybe you are holding it too near your gun, or 
some metal object in your belt or pocket may be attracting it. 
All objects of iron or steel become magnetized to a certain extent 
and will attract the needle if brought too near. But aside from 
such outside influence, and that of wear, the compass is a perfectly 
reliable instrument. Sometimes it tells us that the sun rises in 
the northwest, in which case we should believe it without ques- 
tion, for if we go contrary to the teachings of the instrument we 
will find that 99 times out of 100 the compass is right and we 
are dead wrong. One of the greatest mistakes a man can make 
when he gets turned around in the big timber is to doubt his 
compass, but many people will take a chance on their very un- 
reliable instinct rather than to trust a perfectly trustworthy in- 
strument which was brought into the woods to serve them on 
just such occasions. But one need never be in doubt, for if the 
needle swings freely and settles down in the same position each 
time, he may be sure that the instrument is all right. 

By referring to the drawing, which shows a very common 
type of compass, it will be noted that the dial is graduated in 
degrees, on its outer edge, with the principal points marked with 
letters. These letters mean north, east, south, west, northeast, 
southeast, etc. To make the compass work perfectly it must be 
held level and steady until the needle stops swinging, then the 
compass can be turned easily, so that the blue end of the needle 
stands over the letter "N." When this is done all the points of 
the compass are shown. The only way a compass can be used is 
to show these directions, and, of course, the user should know 
which way he wants to go. Usually a man in the woods knows 
some familiar landmark; it may be a stream, a lake, a mountain, 
or even the railroad which he left when he entered the woods, 
and he will know whether he is north, south, east or west of this 
landmark, so there is little excuse for getting completely lost. 



94 



WOODCRAFT 



ISjOTth 




iSoiAth- 



A ROUTE TRAVELLED BY COMPASS. 



But if he is so hopelessly muddled that he doesn't know for the 
life of him whether he is in the Grand Canyon or a Canadian 
swamp the compass will not help him very much. If he is travel- 
ing north of his landmark he can return to it by going south, and 
the compass will tell him quickly which direction is south. 

Suppose you have made a camp in the wilds and have set 
out to explore the surrounding country. For the sake of illus- 
tration I have drawn a map of some of my old-time hunting 
ground, shovv^ing the location of one of my camps. The first 
move would be to learn the country in the immediate vicinity of 
camp. The stream by the side of the camp flows east and this 
would be the first with which to get acquainted. A trip along 
the stream both ways from camp will serve to familiarize one 



WOODCRAFT 95 

with the stream and nearby country, so that he would have a 
good landmark, and he could hardly cross this stream knowing 
that it was the same one which flows by the camp. He would 
also know, if he were to reach this creek, whether the camp lay 
up stream or down. This then would serve as a base from which 
to operate. We will say now that he wishes to see some of the 
country north and northwest of camp. He sees in the distance 
a high hill with a peculiar bunch of trees on its summit. By 
referring to the compass he finds that the position of this hill is 
a little east of north. Then facing in that direction he notes that 
the sun is behind his right shoulder, for it is morning and the sun 
is in the southeast. Replacing the compass in his pocket he starts 
toward the tree-crowned hill which he has chosen as an objective 
point. As long as the hill is in sight he has clear sailing, but 
when the forest hides his landmark from view he keeps traveling 
straight ahead, maintaining his same position with reference to 
the sun. But the sun is also moving and he dare not go far 
without again looking at the compass and noting the changed 
position of the sun. This, you will see, is traveling by landmark, 
by compass, and by sun, and it will be found a very practical 
way. 

But a man cannot travel straight in the average wilderness 
country, for nature imposes obstacles. Lakes, swamps, unford- 
able streams and other natural obstructions force detours, all of 
which must be kept in mind and a general straight course main- 
tained 

Presuming that in spite of the unavoidable detours the trav- 
eler has kept a reasonable straight course and has reached the 
high hill with its peculiar clump of trees, he will know now that 
since his course has been a little east of north his camp must be 
just that much west of south from this hill. It would be an 
easy matter for him to retrace his steps to camp if he wished 
to do so. 

From the top of the hill the explorer studies the topography 
of the surrounding country, and notes the lakes ; the hollows, 
which indicate water courses ; the swamp and clump of ever- 
green bush. Perhaps he sketches a map of what he sees, the 
details to be added as the country is learned more thoroughly. 

To the northwest he sees what appears to be a fairly large 
lake, and as this looks interesting he sets out in that direction, 
traveling as before, by sun, compass and marker. Sometimes he 
can pick a mark a half mile distant and at other times he must 



96 WOODCRAFT 

be content to make use of a dead tree standing a hundred yards 
or less away. But near or far, they all serve the same purpose. 

Having reached his objective he finds that what appeared to 
be a large lake is in reaHty a chain of small lakes or ponds and 
he draws them into his map. 

Then he sets out down stream, noting that it flows in a 
southwesterly direction, and occasionally he takes a compass 
bearing to make sure that this course has not changed. After 
traveling about a mile he decides to return to camp. By care- 
fully considering the distance traveled in each direction he con- 
cludes that he is now about two and a half miles northwest of 
camp, therefore he must travel southeast, so he starts in that 
direction. When about a quarter of a mile from camp he recog- 
nizes the surroundings and changes his course a httle at the 
point marked by the arrow, and goes straight to camp. 

In the same way the camper would explore the country for a 
few miles east, west and south, and when he has become reas- 
onably well acquainted with this ground he is ready to push his 
explorations to greater distance, knowing that he can without 
difficulty return to familiar ground, and then easily find his camp, 
for he could not cross the section of country with which he is 
now familiar without recognizing it. 

TRAVELING IN THE PATH- 
LESS WOODS 

Part II. 

To travel in a straight line by compass, and to keep your 
bearings regardless of how or where you go, is easy, if the rules 
I have given are followed; but people do not always know these 
rules, or for one reason or another they do not observe them. As 
a result they get lost. What to do in such a case I can't tell; 
but one thing that should not be done is to get frightened and 
travel desperately first in one direction, then in another, always 
more or less in circles, as men do when they wander aimlessly. 

I am a firm believer in that "ounce of prevention" adage, for 
prevention is better than cure every time. This policy has carried 
me through hundreds of miles of wilderness without once getting 
lost. I have never been lost, although many times I have lost 
my bearings for awhile when traveling in company with sorhe- 
body who was leading the way, or when trying to travel in un- 



WOODCRAFT 97 

familiar country without using the methods I have been describ- 
ing. I have never gone astray when using a compass, or when 
traveling by any of the other ways I have mentioned. 

A short time ago I was talking about bush travel with a 
friend and after he had listened to my chatter for awhile he 
asked, "What would you do if you were to get lost?" "I wouldn't 
get lost," I answered, "for the rules I have been explaining to 
you are to prevent that and will always do so if followed. I 
always follow them." "That sounds all right," he argued, "but 
you know people do get lost sometimes and I want to know what 
a man should do if he gets lost. You say that you first get 
acquainted with the country near camp, then explore farther, 
etc., but here now is something different. I go into the woods to 
hunt deer, with a few fellows. We know nothing of the country 
and are dependent on our guides. They have led us into camp 
and we scarcely know how we came. Well, the next day, I set 
out to look for game, alone, intending to hunt close to camp. I 
go first this way and then that way, looking at the Hkely places, 
and after awhile it dawns on me that I don't know which direc- 
tion to go to reach camp. In other words, I am lost. Now 
what should I do?" I will confess that the question was too 
much for me. Having never been lost, I had no experience of 
this kind from which to draw. I recalled stories of people who 
were lost but couldn't think of anything that would help a lost 
man find his way. There are many ways to find the compass 
points, but when a man doesn't know what direction he wants to 
travel, what good is there in knowing which is north and east? 

I suggested to my friend that a man would surely always 
have some point in mind with which he was acquainted and 
would know approximately which direction this place lay. "If 
he does he isn't lost," he repHed. "And even if he knows that 
the railroad runs north and that he is east of it, the railroad may 
be fifty or a hundred miles away, while he may be only a mile 
or two from camp." 

The only practical thing I could suggest was this: When a 
man suddenly discovers that he has lost his bearings and doesn't 
know which way to go to reach camp or familiar ground, he 
should above all things avoid getting excited and "losing his 
head." It is not at all a serious matter and if he will keep cool 
and use judgment he will come out all right. First let him note 
carefully his surroundings so he will know the place when he 
sees it again. Then he can set out in what seems to be the most 
probable direction to familiar ground, but he must travel in a 



98 WOODCRAFT 

straight line by the method I described in the last chapter. 
After traveling a reasonable distance,_ if no familiar ground is 
reached he should return to the starting point and try another 
direction. If all this fails, the various points of the compass 
having been tried, he should come back to the starting point and 
camp there until his friends find him. I am presuming that he 
has lost his bearings under the conditions named by my friend 
and that he has companions some where not many miles distant. 
The campfire may help his friends find him and if he fires his 
gun it may also do some good._ It is a very good plan to agree 
on some sort of a signal to use in case some member of the party 
loses his way but I know this is seldom done, for nobody cares 
to let his friends know that he feels the remotest possibility of 
getting lost. I never leave camp without having with me a good 
quantity of matches. I always carry a light ax and if the weather 
is cold I put a blanket in my packsack. Thus, if anything hap- 
pens to prevent my getting back to camp I am reasonably out- 
fitted for camping out a night. 

In my talk about travel by compass I have spoken of keep- 
ing direction by the sun and thus doing away to a great extent 
with frequent reference to the compass. Doubtless the reader 
has been wondering what he should do on days when the sun is 
invisible. Fortunately there are few such days unless it is during 
a rain when of course very little traveling is done. But there 
are days when fog or clouds obscure the sun for hours and then 
travel is slow because one must make frequent reference to the 
compass. The only safe way is to select some conspicuous object 
in the line of travel each time a compass bearing is taken and to 
take a new bearing when this object is reached. A dense fog is 
the worst possible condition for then not only is the sun invis- 
ible but one cannot see far enough to choose objective points. - 
I seldom attempt to travel under such conditions but when I do, 
if I make a half or three-quarters of a mile an hour, providing I 
have no stream, lake shore or trail to follow, I consider that I 
am getting along very well. Blinding rain or snow storms also 
make travel very difficult. I have traveled in a heavy snow- 
storm by making use of the wind as a guide, in conjunction with 
the compass. The wind seldom changes during a steady rain or 
snow storm, and anyway the compass would apprise the way- 
farer of a change in the wind before he had gone far out of his 
course. 

There are ways of learning the directions without a compass 
which may be used in case of emergency. First there is the sun. , 



WOODCRAFT 



99 



South 




Sun 



THE WATCH AS A COMPASS. 



In theory it rises in the east and sets in the west; but in reality 
it only behaves so on or very near the equator. As we are in 
the northern hemisphere the sun is of course south of the east 
and west line all the time, and in winter it is farther south than 
in summer, because the earth wabbles back and forth throughout 
the seasons and the northern portion leans away from the path of 
the sun in winter. As a consequence the sun rises somewhat 
south of the east in summer and sets a little south of west. In 
winter it rises still farther south and its path across the sky is 
always to the south of us. At noon it is straight south. Thus 
it will be seen that if one knows approximately the time of day 
he can easily figure out the compass points. Directions by the 
sun can be learned with much greater accuracy if one has a 
watch, for knowing the time of day exactly he should know just 
how far the sun is from the zenith at that time and thus easily 
locate the true south. Having found it he has but to face in 
that direction and the north will then be behind him, the east on 
his left and the west on his right side. 

But there is a much better way of getting the compass direc- 
tions by means of a watch and it is done in this way. Holding 
the watch so that the hour hand points to a line perpendicular 
to the sun. count half way from this hour to twelve and this 



loo WOODCRAFT 

will be south; in other words half way between the hour hand 
and the figure twelve is south. Count forward from the hour 
hand to twelve in the forenoon, but in the afternoon the south 
is half way between the hour hand and twelve, counting back 
towards twelve. While I may not have made my point clear I 
believe that the drawing will convey the idea more distinctly. 
The time shown is 8 p. m. and with the hour hand pointed 
towards the sun, south would be midway between 8 and 12 or 
in line with the figure 10. 

When the sun is invisible and no compass or other ordinary 
means of locating directions is available it is advisable to stay in 
camp if possible. But it is well to know means of finding direc- 
tions under such conditions for one never knows what may happen 
and a little knowledge along this line can do no harm even if it is 
never used. We sometimes read or hear from woodsmen of 
such means and usually they are given as safe and reliable 
methods. But they should never be taken too seriously. For 
instance we are told that moss grows only on the north side of 
trees, while the larger branches are on the south side. This is 
true in a general way but conditions have their effect and the 
shelter of the other trees or nearby hills may reverse the order 
more or less. But the fact that the sun's rays never directly 
reach the north side of a tree encourages the growth of moss on 
that side, while the almost constant sunshine by day, on the south 
side, causes the sap to flow there more vigorously and thus gives 
a greater growth to the branches on the south side. In prairie 
country the prevailing wind, usually from the north, will give a 
permanent incline to the grass, which may help one to locate 
directions. 

It is seldom necessary to travel at night unless in the north 
when the snow is soft during the day and travel is better at 
night. But then the traveler usually has a snowshoe trail to 
follow or he will have some other way of keeping his directions. 
If not he can travel by the north star in the same way that he 
keeps his bearings by the sun during the day. The difference is 
that the north star does not move across the sky as does the 
sun, and it is always in the north. To find this star first locate, 
the group which constitute what is commonly known as the 
dipper. The two stars forming the side of the bowl farthest from 
the handle are in line with the north star and it is above the 
open side or top of the dipper bowl. 

I have remarked that a man traveling without guidance of 
any kind always moves in a circle and I think the readers are 



WOODCRAFT loi 

• isIorthStar 



Dipper 

THE STAR THAT MARKS THE TRUE NORTH. 

all well acquainted with this fact. I don't know why we do so, 
but one theory is that one leg is longer than the other and natur- 
ally takes a longer step. Others think the trouble is caused by 
one leg being stronger than the other. But whatever the cause 
it is a fact that a man wandering aimlessly in the woods will in 
a short time cross his own trail. This fact was never brought 
home to me so forcibly as one time when I tried to travel with- 
out a compass on a cloudy day. It was early spring and I was 
traveling on snowshoes, so there was no danger of getting lost, 
for I had my trail to follow back to camp. I was trying to travel 
south and was setting a line of traps. I had traveled quite a dis- 
tance straight south as I supposed when I saw before me a 
fresh snowshoe trail. I thought at once that some Indian trapper 
must have invaded my trapping ground. I stepped into the trail 
and was surprised to find that my snowshoes fitted perfectly into 
the tracks; then the truth dawned upon me — I had been traveling 
in a circle. Feeling very foolish I started forward again, resolved 
to keep a straight course. I found the place where I had made 
the first turn to the right and here I left the trail and started 
south again. After traveling perhaps a half mile I again saw 
a fresh trail ahead and knew at once that I had made another 
circle. Once more I attempted to strike a straight course south 
and I traveled the remainder of the way without completing a 
circle. When the time came to return to camp I had just one 



102 WOODCRAFT 

trap left and I set it at the end of the trail in a ravine which led 
down from a hillside. A few days later when I went to look 
at the traps I climbed to the top of the hill where I had set the 
last trap, a distance of about loo yards, and was very much sur- 
prised to see below me the lake on which my camp was situated, 
and the cabin itself not more than a mile away. 

To travel straight by that questionable sense known as in- 
stinct is absolutely impossible, notwithstanding the stories we 
hear of Indians, foresters and others who habitually travel this 
way. Instinct is a very unreliable guide and something more 
tangible is needed. So when you hear stories of a man who can 
go anywhere and find his way without failure from one part of 
the woods to another, it may be wise to pretend credulity, but 
you may be sure that the story teller is either elaborating or his 
hero has a very thorough knowledge of the woods and a very 
reliable, altogether scientific method of keeping his bearings. 

The surest way to get lost is to try to travel on strange 
ground without any guidance whatever, and this is perhaps most 
easily accomplished by letting some other person lead the way 
until you have completely lost your bearings. It is a strange 
fact that few people pay any attention to where they are going 
if somebody else leads the way and this probably results in more 
cases of people losing their bearings than all other things com- 
bined. I have lost all sense of direction in a very short time by 
letting some other person lead the way, and this in a farming 
community. Another easy way to get lost is to follow a game 
trail, for in such cases the trail and the probability of sighting 
the game so interests and completely fill one's thoughts that he 
seldom, gives any thought to directions or distance traveled. 

To sum up the whole matter of bush travel, one thing stands 
out as being of the utmost importance and that is to keep the 
compass points constantly in mind and at the same time have 
familiar ground from which to start operations. With these two 
essentials there will be no worry about getting lost to mar one's 
pleasure and he can travel anywhere he chooses in the big woods. 



WOODCRAFT 103 

PACKING 

The outfit needed for packing camp equipment is, for each 
horse, a pack saddle, woolen blankets, pack cinch, 35 or 40- feet 
of one-half inch manilla rope, another rope of the same size, 20 
feet long, a pair of alforjas, a pair of hobbles, and a bell to put 
on the horse when it is turned out for the night. 

A pack saddle consists of two crosses of hardwood, fastened 
to two flat, round-end pieces of wood, and to this is attached 
breeching, breast straps and one or two cinches, with the other 
necessary strap work. 

A good pack saddle is strong and well made, of good mate- 
rials. The leather is a peculiar kind that will not tighten when 
tied into knots, for the cinch adjustments are usually tied in- 
stead of fastened with buckles. When selecting a pack saddle 
be sure that the breeching and breast straps are long enough for 
any horse on v/hich the saddle may be used, for the makers fre- 
quently try to economize by skimping the rigging, so that they 
may sell at a lower price. 

Be sure also that the saddle fits the horse reasonably well, 
or it will cause trouble. Most of the pack horses used in the 
mountains are more or less hollow backed, and the saddle base 
should not be too long or it will rest on the ends only. On the 
other hand, if too short it will not be so stable and will also hurt 
the horse. The double cinch saddle, such as shown in the illus- 
tration, is by far the best. 

Alforjas are sacks to hang on the sides of the saddle, in 
which to place all of the small articles of the outfit. They are 
made of very heavy duck, leather bound, and have straps or 
loops of rope with which to suspend them from the saddle forks. 
The proper size is about 24 inches wide, 18 inches high, and 
when opened out, nine inches deep. 

When packing an outfit the horse should be tied and the 
blanket should be folded and placed on the horse's back. It 
should not be less than four folds thick and should extend a 
little ahead and a little behind the saddle base. It must also come 
down far enough on the sides to form a pad for the alforjas and 
keep them from rubbing and chafing the animal. 

The saddle should then be placed on the folded blanket. 
Now, at this point, if you want to be kind to the poor horse, 
grasp the blanket between the two pieces of the saddle base and 
pull it up a little, so that it is loose over the horse's back. This 



I04 



WOODCRAFT 



will allow the saddle to settle down under the weight of the pack 
and not bind, which it is sure to do if the blanket is not loosened 
a little as advised. Then both cinches should be tightened, and 
the breeching and breast straps properl)^ adjusted. 

The alforjas are then filled with the small articles of the 
camp equipment and hung on the forks of the saddle. If the 
packer is at all conscientious, as he should be, he will see that 
each sack is of the same weight and that there are no hard or 
sharp objects so placed that they will injure the animal. Articles 
which are too big to go into the sacks are then placed on top, 
where they will rest firmly and not hurt the horse, and the 
blankets and tent are folded and spread over the top of saddle 
and alforjas. 

At this stage commences what is generally considered the 
trick of packing, tying the pack to the horse. There are m.any 
forms of pack hitch in use and any of them may be learned quite 
easily by an observing person, nevertheless tying a pack properly 
can scarcely be done at the first attemipt. The most popular of 




DOUBLE CINCH PACK SADDLE., 



WOODCRAFT 



I05 




pack ties is what is known as the diamond hitch and all things 
considered it is probably the best on the list. 

To throw the diamond hitch, proceed as follows : Having 
tied one end of the long rope to the ring of the pack cinch, go to 



i66 



WOODCRAFT 

Off Side 




the near side (left) of the horse and throw the cinch over the 
pack and horse, then reach under the horse and pick up the 
cinch. The hooked end of the cinch is now toward you. Draw 
back on the rope until you have all of the slack and pull the rope, 
down on the near side to the hook of the cinch ; double it here 
and give it a twist, as shown in Fig. i, then hook the loop to the 
cinch. Now double the free portion of the rope and shove it 
through under the part marked by the arrow, from the back, 
forming loop A, as shown in Fig. 2. Now give this loop a twist 
as shown in Fig. 3, to bring the free portion of the rope down 
farther towards the near side. Next grasp this rope at the place 
marked by the arrow in Fig. 3, and draw up a part of the free 
rope forming loop B, as shown in Fig. 4. All of this time you 
have been keeping the rope that crosses the pack fairly tight. 
You now go to the off side and pull loop A down over and 
under the pack, then come back and put loop B under the pack 
on the near side. This will leave the hitch as in Fig. 5 and it is 
ready for tightening. Commence first by pulling the rope at 
A, then at B, C, D, E, F, G and H, successively. The end of the 
rope H is then tied to the ring in the pack cinch at the off side, 
and the diamond hitch is completed. The ropes should all be 
quite tight, and if they grow loose after awhile they should be 
tightened again. 

There is another very simple way of tying a diamond hitch, 
which though not quite like the one described in detail, is the 
same in principle. It is shown very plainly in the three diagrams 
reproduced here. As in the first method the rope and cinch are 
thrown across the pack to the off side and the cinch is picked up 



WOODCRAFT 107 

from beneath the horse, then the rope is drawn up and hooked to 
the cinch, but the little twist is not put in the rope as in the first 
method. The free portion of the rope is then thrown across the 
pack to the off side so that it is parallel with and behind the 
first rope. Then double this rope on the top of the pack and 
push it under the first rope from the rear, as shown in Fig. 8. 
Now bring this loop back over and push it through again, as in 
Fig. 9, forming the small loop A. Now take the free end of the 
rope down under the pack on the near side, back and up at the 
rear, through the loop A again. This is illustrated in Fig. 10. 
The free end of the rope then goes down under the pack from 
the rear on the off side and fastens to the cinch ring. The rope 
is tightened the same as in the other method. This hitch is as 
good as the other and is more easily remembered, although not 
as easily tied as the one first described. 

Either of these pack ties may be managed easily by one man, 
but they are tied more rapidly by two men, one standing on the 
off side and the other on the near aide, so that neither need walk 
around the horse. Then there is the additional advantage in that 
the rope m.ay be drawn up tight and there is no danger that it 
will slip, as one or the other of the men can be holding the rope 
all the time the pack is being tied. 

In addition to the pack ties described there is another hitch 
that should be learned as it is useful for securing packages to the 
pack saddle when alforjas are not used, also for holding packs 
to the sides of the saddle while tying the diamond hitch. There 
are several methods of fixing a sling rope and the mode I am 
going to describe is illustrated in Fig. 7. 

For this purpose the shorter length of rope is brought into 
use. It is doubled in the middle and looped around the front 
forks of the pack saddle, then one-half of the rope is taken to 
the near side and the other is dropped on the off side. Taking 
either half of the rope, you allow sufficient slack to hold the pack 
at the proper height then bring the rope around the rear forks, 
then down to the centre of the slack portion, where it is tied. 
The pack is then fixed in this loop and the other side is arranged 
the same way. After both packs are properly slung the ends of 
the rope are brought up on top and tied together. 

There are many forms of pack hitches other than those de- 
scribed, although the diamond hitch is most used and more popu- 
lar than any of the others. 

A pack horse should never be overloaded, and the animal 
cannot carry as great a load as many people expect. Two hun- 



io8 WOODCRAFT 

dred pounds is the limit for any pack, and 150 is a more reason- 
able load. For long journeys the pack, per horse, should not 
weigh this much. A hundred or a 125 is all that should be allot- 
ted to any animal. 

A pack train may consist of any number of pack animals, and 
if there are enough riders in the party one man rides between 
each two pack horses. I mean by that, one rider goes ahead 
leading a horse behind him. That horse is followed by another 
rider, then another pack horse, etc'T If there are not enough men 
in the party for this, two pack animals are placed between two 
riders. The men may lead the horses if they are inclined to 
wander from the route, but ordinarily this is not necessary, as the 
animals will keep in line. But if you lead a pack horse do not 
grow tired of holding the rope and tie it to the horn of the 
saddle. This is a dangerous practice and may result in serious 
injury to the one who is so thoughtless, for the pack horse may 
become frightened and bolt or may swing around, wrapping the 
rope around the rider. , 

Pack horses are always more or less troublesome, and the 
man who uses them should have a bountiful supply of patience. 
At night the animals are hobbled, which means that their front 
feet are fastened together with hobbles, so that they cannot 
travel fast or far. Too much dependence should not be placed 
on these retarders, for Western horses soon learn to travel quite 
rapidly when thus impeded, and will sometimes set out for home 
while the master sleeps. A good practice is to picket one or two 
horses in the best spots of pasture to be found, and hobble the 
remaining animals. They are not so likely to leave if this is 
done, and if they do, the picketed horses must remain behind, 
which insures at least a mount with which to follow the run- 
aways. Also put a bell on each horse, as this will aid in locat- 
ing the animals in the morning. 

Horse feed cannot be carried, and Western horses seldom 
get any food except what they can find at night or while they are 
not in use, and on the plains or in the mountains where vege- 
tation is scanty they sometimes do not get as much as they re- 
quire. Under such circumstances they should not be loaded too 
heavily, or traveled too far in a day, and it may even be neces- 
sary, on a long journey to take an occasional day of rest to allow 
the horses to recuperate. 



WOODCRAFT 



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ANIMAL. TRACKS 1, PARTRIDGE; 2, RABBIT; 3, SQUIRREL; 
4, SKUNK; AND 5, A FEW FOX TRACKS. 



no 



WOODCRAFT 



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WOODCRAFT III 




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WOODCRAFT 



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